


My Lovely Kitten

by Hunter13Hawkie



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Evil Corporations, Explicit Language, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Neko Eren!, Past Abuse, i'll add tags as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:25:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4378952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hunter13Hawkie/pseuds/Hunter13Hawkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After running away from past, Levi finds himself as a roommate of a crazy biology scientist Hanji. Without a proper ID, Levi can’t really get a work or go to college, so he’s stuck at Hanji’s apartment, cleaning up messes caused by her constant experimenting.</p>
<p>Always keen on keeping the strays, one day while returning home, Hanji finds something much more mysterious than a dog or cat - boy with cat paws, ears and tail. Without a second thought she takes him home and along with Levi keeps it as pet. But despite looking like ten year old, cat boy acts pretty much as a mixture of an infant and kitten. Since Hanji is occupied with work, Levi has to take care of him instead and cat boy can’t possibly be left alone for more than few minutes without disaster happening.</p>
<p>In the meanwhile Hanji tries to find out about his origins with only a collar with name Eren as a lead. Clues firstly seem pointless, but slowly reveal the dark secrets of human experimentation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keeping a Stray

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! For the ones who read Messanger of Freedom, I'm sorry for not updating, but I can promise you that the next chapter is in progress and will be probably posted sometime this week.
> 
> Reason I didn't post anything for a while... well let's just say I was on this big anime convention for the first time in my life! I was on few smaller conventions so far, but that one was just amazing!
> 
> Okay, you're probably wondering why I'm saying this - the convention was pretty much the inspiration for this story (I actually planned it long before, but recent events made it come faster). Let's start with the fact that I spent seven days with a friend of mine who isn't really a clean freak, but likes to keep things clean and in order (unlike me, who was constantly leaving stuff everywhere- like Hanji XD). Next fact - I cosplayed as Eren two days! Both times I made some adorable pictures with other SNK cosplayers and I must say I enjoyed posing with several Levis :D ! Last but not least, I purchased a set of cat ears, paws and tail, plus the ribbon bell.
> 
> All of this resulted in this new fanfiction, I hope you'll like it.
> 
> Also kudos, comments, critics and questions appreciated. XD

After seven hours of sleep, the last thing you want is a noisy alarm clock. Unfortunately exactly that was woke up Levi, unpleasant buzzing becoming louder by each passing minute. After finally getting up and turning off the darn device, man reached for the marker, crossing the date on the calendar hung on the door.

 

“The middle of April…” he sighed, putting on a freshly washed shirt and sweatpants, still smelling like soap.So far there was not sight of typical April rain, despite the weatherman’s claims about rainy days approaching. To prove how wrong the forecast was, sun shone through the window with blinding effect the moment Levi removed the curtains.

 

Rain or the morning sunshine, black haired needed to start with his routine. Putting on an apron, the list of things to do was formed in his mind. First set the water for coffee and tea, while waiting for it to boil set the plates for breakfast. Remove the kettle off the stove, pour the water into two separate mugs and add the required ingredients. Check if the laundry from the last night was done. If it is dry, prepare it for ironing, if not leave it as it is. Open the windows to let the fresh morning air inside, go collect the mail while thinking what to make for breakfast. Decide for cereal and toast, prepare the food and pack some for lunch.

 

Once everything was set, only one the most difficult part was left. Sighing when entering the other room, Levi was not surprised to find certain someone not in bed. Her limbs spread over the table and head on the opened biology encyclopedia snoring like a cracked car. There’s was saliva dripping down from brunette’s opened mouth, instantly disgusting him on sight. It was not unusual for Hanji, his roommate, to fall asleep in the middle of unleashing her thirst for knowledge. Besides tons of nerdy work that she’s been doing as a part of her job, Hanji was eager to go through numerous books concerning scientific discoveries. Though it was quite common for her to forget about time passing, resulting in the mess of the nest she called her room.

 

Unlike Levi’s tidy and organized room, Hanji’s looked as the bomb exploded in it. Sheets of papers were laying literally everywhere as well as books and notepads. Majority of the clothes was luckily set for ironing, but the ones still there were hanging on open doors of the wardrobe. Even though she hasn’t slept in the bed for the night, bed was trashed with blanket on the floor and pillow nowhere in sight. The rest of her things were scattered around, adding the sugar or more like junk on the top.

 

Not bothering to wake Hanji by shaking her shoulders, Levi ousted the chair, brunette falling on the ground by a loud thud. Surprisingly she still needed couple of minutes to fully wake up.

 

“Gee… why do you always have to be so harsh Midget? Okay, I’ll go back to bed, just let me finish this page.” brunette yawned as she picked herself up, eyes still seeing in blurs.

“Oi, get your ass up Shitty Glasses! You’re going to be late for work!” Levi gave her a good kick when she finally realized the situation. Quickly grabbing her glasses when taking a peek on her watch, Hanji was out of sudden awake, looking around for the things she needed to get ready.

“Clothes are on your bed, bag on the coffee table and ironed lab coat on the couch. You have ten minutes otherwise your breakfast is going to get cold.” man left the room while Hanji rushed to get the things done.

 

Ten minutes later while he slowly sipped his tea, woman was somehow ready, her hair tied in messy ponytail, jeans zipped and shirt buttoned right. The bags under her eyes were gone as soon as she got a good swallow of the coffee. Munching on the toast with loads of peanut butter and jelly, Hanji was done in less than three minutes, grabbing the bag in which the lab coat and pocket lunch was stuffed. Trying impossible to hug Levi (which ended by a kick to her leg) Hanji got into car and with it off to work. Just before leaving the garage, he heard something sounding like “You make a good housewife”, at which he only grunted as returned to hi chores.

 

Besides the dishes to wash, there was laundry to iron and floors to sweep. Windows also seemed to be fit for a good portion of wiping. All that and lots of other chores for Levi to do sounded just like a paradise to him, unlike to anyone else. Cleaning was just his thing, sorting stuff to the right places while inhaling the perfect aroma of bubbling soap and detergent. Moving outside to replace the scent with cleaning fluid black haired noticed few clouds, not much but still sort of threating to expand. It wasn’t problem for him since he was done with windows in less than an hour. By that time clouds surely spread all over, turning dangerously grey.

Not minding them, Levi went back inside to gather all dirty clothes in order to get them into the washing machine. Trying not to pay attention to Hanji’s clothes messy with God knows what he managed to gather all of them, plus five more of her socks from underneath the bed. As the clothes were spinning in washing substance, man thought what more was to do. He could try the impossible of cleaning Hanji’s room, only for brunette to trash it again after setting a foot in it. Not to mention she wasn’t able to find anything in highly tidy space.

 

Sighing he decided for a shower since morning was so rushed and he had plenty of time before Hanji would be back. Going towards the bathroom, Levi couldn’t avoid looking at his own black coat, the only possession that he could call as his own. It was shiny with all holes carefully patched, looking like a brand new clothing, not as something old enough to serve as emergency cover up if not a cleaning rag.

But no matter how many times he fixed it or wash it, he couldn’t wipe away the memories clung to it. Day he had finally decided to runaway felt like distant past, though the day he met Hanji felt like yesterday.

 

_“Hey what are you doing there? You’re going to catch a cold like that!” her concerned voice echoed through the alley, accompanied by raindrops._

_“I’m fine.” figure wrapped in coat said as trying to get rid of noisy woman._

_“No you’re not.” Hanji insisted, holding an umbrella over his head “Where do you live?”_

_“I manage.” was his only reply before shoving her off “And it’s none of your fucking business.”_

_“If you’re homeless just say so.” she said carefully, earning a death glare from the other “You can come to my place. My roommate recently moved to other apartment, so there’s lots of space for you as well.”_

_“I don’t need your pity and I hate being indebted to someone.” Levi grunted, masking the shiver of cold._

_“Take my umbrella at least. I have a hood on my coat so I don’t really need it.” without waiting for approval she placed it into his hands. Knowing he wouldn’t take her offer of shelter due to his stubbornness, Hanji decided to rather leave him alone. His death glares were enough to confirm his preference to do things his own way. Little he knew there was a sticker attached to colorful umbrella, containing her name and address. If he had even a little dignity under the hateful expression, he would come to return it._

_Over a week later while brunette struggled to finish the rest of oversized pizza, polite knocking on the door kicked her out of thoughts. Pushing away the decision if she should eat it, freeze it or give it to some acquaintances on the other part of the town, she went to doors wondering who it was. It couldn’t be salesman, coworker or friend due to the late hour plus her house was located on the very end of the street, partly hidden in the forest. When opening the doors, she was surprised to see the very same black haired man, soaked from head to toe despite rain ending hours ago._

_Hanji was about to say something when he lifted his hand, signaling to her to be quiet._

_“I was going to return your umbrella, but some fucking guys from the street threw it in the river.” he said simply, prepared to return from where he came “I’m sorry I couldn’t return it.”_

_“Don’t be! I was going to throw it away either way!” she grabbed his hand, he flinching at the touch “Please come inside! If you as far as walked several miles to get here, let me at least dry your clothes and borrow you the shower. Not to mention I have tons of leftovers from my dinner.”_

_Levi reluctantly had her drag him inside, the warmth slightly relaxing him, though he didn’t want Hanji to know that._

_“I already owe you an umbrella. There’s no way I can repay you back for everything else you’re offering me.” his hands were crossed, serious expression never changing._

_“Don’t you think you’re a bit too dramatic? You don’t need to pay me back anything. I help because I want to.” Hanji already strip him of his wet coat, despite his protests. Before he could do anything, he was already pushed into bathroom with a towel, some clothes and her claim that she won’t let him out until he’s cleaned up and dry. At first he tried to get out, but sooner or later the hot water won the battle. As he stood under the hot shower he thought about the eccentric woman who kept insisting on helping him. There were people offering help before, but the kindness was short lived, so he had learnt not to trust anyone even if they had appeared to be nice._

_Although this brunette appeared to be somehow different. Giving her a tiny chance, Levi wrapped the towel around his waist, putting on an oversized shirt with sign “I LOVE SCIENCE” with a grunt. Peeking through doors he saw her on couch, eyes glued to some nature related magazine. Moment he made another step alerted her enough to run towards him, nearly hugging him if it weren’t for his raised hand._

_“Awww look at you cutie now that you’re all washed and dry!” she excitedly took a look at his short form, huge shirt only decreasing his actual size._

_“I’m only staying until my clothes are dry.” Levi took a look at his tattered jeans, jacket and shirt hanging on the rope near the washing machine “Then I’m leaving.”_

_“Nonsense, you’re staying until I make sure you’re fit enough.” Hanji rushed to kitchen, bringing the plate with the rest of pizza “Here, eat up!”_

_“I hate to be indebt…”Levi started, but was cut off when brunette stuffed the piece of pizza into his mouth._

_“Cut the crab and eat for goodness sakes! If you feel like you’re indebted or something wash the dishes. Kids these days usually do that for allowance, I don’t see the major difference between them and you!” woman nearly shouted as the other tried not to choke onto the piece of food. After making sure everything was properly swallowed, Levi took around the house for the first time in detail. Literally a pile of dirty dishes was laying both in the sink and counter, probably left there for weeks. Besides the horror in kitchen, living room didn’t look any better, not to mention what was waiting on the other side of few other rooms. Brunette was unorganized alright and seriously needed a good cleanup of her home._

_“You know what? I’ll repay you, but not only in form of washing dishes, I’ll clean your place completely.” Levi smirked, something he hadn’t done in a long time._

 

When shower was turned off, so were the memories. Since then, Levi sort of moved in, paying his rent in form of doing chores and taking care of Hanji when she was far too busy to do so.It has been six years since the fateful meeting, Hanji getting a degree in science and soon a job concerning subjects that Levi didn’t quite understand. He knew it was something about medications testing, pretty much like a mixture between basically all known sciences with addition of extra lab work and experimenting.

Brunette seemed to enjoy her job to the point of working overtime, sometimes even spending several nights at her lab. Fortunately her coworkers would leave a voicemail, so “concerned roommate” wouldn’t be worried too much.

She would usually return home all beat up from work, yet as soon as taking a quick nap she was ready to work more on her research or something out of pure enjoyment. Lifestyle like hers resulted in messy apartment, several sleepless nights, awakened only by tough methods plus strong cup of coffee and poor eating habits in form of junk food. It was only a miracle she found Levi who had soon learnt how to handle everything while let her have her old lifestyle.

As for him he didn’t change much, still grumpy and short anti-social man. He rarely left her house, not only because of being socially awkward, but because of not owning a proper ID or any other records containing the proof of his existence. Due to his background hidden in shadows of streets and nameless parents, Levi never went to school, writing and reading being the only skill he had ever been taught to by himself. Besides the cleaning of course.

If you grow up on streets, sooner or later you learn of all dangers lurking on you, the filth being one of them. Where the grime was, so were diseases, death following closely. Levi’s obsession with cleanliness may have been his solo savior when it came to the battle in dangerous environment since he had avoided filthy places and tried his best to maintain the personal hygiene. He would sometimes found an abandoned warehouse or cellar where he was spared of dirt, but sooner or later he would needed to move. The more you move the more chances of survival you have just like a lone animal – trusting your instincts to keep going.

 

He was a stray, yet he had survived and somehow had found a better way to live with Hanji. Speaking of brunette, she was supposed to be back around the afternoon for dinner. Levi took a quick look around the fridge and pantry for any ideas what to do. Realizing they were running low on majority of groceries, he had no other choice than to do it himself. It was usually Hanji who would do the grocery shopping, practically the only chore she was capable of doing by Levi’s standards since she had a car and access to one of the bigger department stores in town.

 

But for situations such as those, she had a wallet with some money left right next to the microwave. There was another smaller storea little more the fifteen minutes on foot away, also a Hanji’s friend worked there who know about him in case someone would give him unpleasant questions. Grabbing an old bag and shopping list he had written while scanning the kitchen he too left the house. Making sure to lock it properly, black haired set the umbrella. The clouds finally let out the awaited rain, breeze not far behind.It was barely the beginning of the awaiting storm, yet Levi preferred to get it done as soon as possible due to the laundry that would be washed by the time he was back.

 

Twenty minutes later he was already putting various packages and cans into shopping cart. Besides ingredients needed for today’s dinner Levi added usual groceries such as bread, coffee and lots of vegetables. First thing he had noticed about Hanji was probably how unbalanced her diet was, veggies being completely forgotten on her menu. He could’ve said the same for himself, having diet made of leftovers and still edible foods from the trash, but he knew well that being hypocritical was the last thing to do if he was planning to change anything.

Shopping cart was nearly full when he was approaching the end of the list. Only few cans of tuna for his recipewere to buy, along with a bottle of milk since cereal just wasn’t eatable without it. Luckily it was a sale day, so few of the products came cheaper than expected.

 

“Shopping again, huh?” young auburn haired woman behind the cash register asked as he was putting the products into a bag.

“Someone has to. Shitty Glasses is stuck inside of her fucking lab all the time.” Levi didn’t hesitate to cover his foul language. It was part of his nature plus Petra, the store’s employee, has known him long enough to understand.

“Found a job yet?” she asked, black haired trying hard not to reveal his nervousness by gripping the edge of the counter. It wasn’t as he refused to work outside Hanji’s household. Most of all he wasn’t prepared to face the bright side of society yet since until six years ago all he knew was the darker part. Petra wasn’t the only person encouraging him. Hanji has been circling the job offers in every newspaper not to mention a few friends of hers who had connections with various companies.

 

Maybe someday, but not today. After all, in six years of time, his records and ID still weren’t properly finished. It was known for registry offices to function with snail’s speed, but that was just ridicules. Until all papers were set, Levi had pretty much no choice than to play the housewife. Not that others weren’t aware of that or something, though all job offers that they recommended were meant for either students or the ones where background information wasn’t necessary.

 

“I’m still looking.” he replied while counting the right amount for purchase “Thanks for concern.”

 

Petra had learnt long before that the line between Levi’s sarcasm and actual saying was thin, so she simply gave him the receipt and waved a short good-bye. Holding the umbrella with one hand while holding the shopping bag with other, man headed back, avoiding large puddles in the street. Duringthe time he spent inside shopping, rain has been drenching sidewalks and roads all over.

The sooner he would be home the better. If there was one thing he hated was walking with soaked socks that made truly disgusting noises, especially if they were accompanied with splashing sounds of passing cars. Entering the familiar street with only a single house at the edge of the forest, Levi was relieved to come home a bit less than ten minutes later, only to be knocked out of his relaxed state by surprise. 

 

Hanji’s car was parked right in front of the house, its door wide open as well as the house’s doors. If it weren’t for brunette’s car, Levi may have thought the burglar was on the job. But after quickly checking his watch, everything made even less sense. Hanji’s work wouldn’t end until 3 or 4 PM and it was barely 11 AM.

Hurrying inside, he realized Hanji was indeed home since the house that he had leftspotless was already messy again. Three towels were carelessly dropped in front of the bathroom plus the dripping wet floor suggested that brunette had to do something with it. Closing the both doors, putting the bag on the table and putting on a death glare, Levi was ready to be pissed off on the figure in front of his own room.

 

“What’s the meaning of this you Shitty Woman? How many times do I have to tell you to fucking wipe the floors before parquet gets damaged!” Levi’s arms were crossed, his voice scaring a shit out of Hanji. He knew that the woman was in charge of the house and that she could easily throw him out whenever she wanted, but brunette was way too generous to do that, so Levi could gave her as honest conversation as possible.

“Oh… hey there Midget.” she stepped in front of the doors leading to Levi’s room as her life depended on it “I was wondering where you were.”

“Enough with your bullshit, what the fuck is going on? You came home hours before your work ends, in less than an hour you managed to vandalize the bathroom and you’d better not done something to my room as well! Because if you did…” he was cut off before he could finish.

“Shhh don’t make so much noise, you’ll wake him up!” Hanji covered his mouth, Levi grimacing from the disgust.

“Him?” black haired eyes grew wide from the rage “Are you telling me that you decided to keep another stray again? We’re not a fucking animal shelter!”

“But Sony and Bean looked so helpless all alone! I had to do something about those two poor puppies!” Hanji nearly started crying, memories running through her head.

“You can’t even take care of yourself, let alone a goldfish! How do expect you’ll be miraculously able to have responsibility for a living being?” Levi had enough of her attempts to keep stray animals “Look, we’re going to take it to animal shelter. There are people experienced in those kinds of things and you’ve seen it well that they treat animals well.”

 

Hanji still refused to move away from the doors, arms stretched up to add more prevention. Ever since she picked Levi from the streets, brunette seemed as she had a life goal to help every single stray on the streets. It wasn’t a surprise to find dogs, cats and even abandoned snakes in her apartment. Levi was indulgent about it at first, but sooner or later realized Hanji wasn’t capable of taking care of them all. After all she was working full time and was pretty much dedicated to her job. Still that didn’t mean she was lacking a soft spot for animals, especially the wounded ones.

 

 

“Glasses, step away. Sooner we get it to the right place the better.” black haired knew that if she kept it for a longer period of time it would be more heartbreaking for her.

“No.” Hanji said determinedly, but Levi already pushed her away entering his small yet decent bedroom.

 

“Shitty Glasses… what the fuck is that?” for once man was the one who was speechless.

 

It might’ve been clearer now why brunette was so persistent of keeping him away. As expected there was an animal under the covers, only tail and one pawn peeking through. Though the creature itself was beyond what Hanji had ever dragged into her house.

 

For a moment Levi wasn’t sure what bothered him more. The fact that his personal space was invaded or what was actually in it. Whatever it was it was at least three times bigger than an average dog, not to mention the claws hidden behind the furry pawns were probably sharper than needles.

 

“Did you by any chance drag a fucking cheetah into my bed? Was there a zoo breakout that I wasn’t informed about?” the last question was hardly believable since he has been closely following the news every single day.

“No… it’s complicated.” Hanji was still making attempts to get him away “For now just let him sleep.”

“Sleep? It’s my fucking bed Glasses! Why does it always have to be my bed?” rage erupted from where it was before.

“Mine is too messy…” she practically held him back when he tried to remove the covers.

“For fuck’s sake, I’m sure…” Levi finally pulled the sheets, gasp escaping his mouth when finishing the rest of the sentence “… cat won’t mind.”

 

It was indeed a cat resting in his bed… or at least half of it. Pawns, chocolate brown tail and matching cat ears looked completely normal for a cat. The rest was what didn’t seem quite right.

Dressed in only one of Hanji’s oversized T-shirts was a human boy, aged probably not more than ten. His eyes were shut, twitching a bit from time to time while all of his limbs with exception of tail were pressed to his body, curled into a ball. Looking a bit more closely, Levi noticed that one of his front paws was bandaged, dried blood sticking on the edge of it. Otherwise he looked alright, ears lying flat against his head like fully relaxed cat.

 

For a second Levi really wanted to punch something, either himself to wake up from the bizarre dream or Hanji for making it happen. Fortunately the sounds, that the cat-boy made, interrupted his thinking of causing damage and rather ask the correct questions.

 

“Who, what, why and when? Explain.” he stated simply, obviously tired from what has been going on ever since he had returned from the store.

 

Hanji needed a moment to properly cover the sleeping creature before starting, keeping her voice at the gentle tone.

 

“It was during the lunch break; btw your sandwiches are to die for, when I went outside to pick some files from my car. Rain was already all over when I heard something in a back alley. I firstly though it was a person, but the voices didn’t match a human being or an animal. Of course I went to check it out!” she kept glancing towards the bed.

“Let me guess, it was the boy-cat hybrid.” Levi wasn’t in mood for listening to dramatized versions of events.

“Poor thing was crying when I entered the alley, though the moment I entered it got all fury and hissed like the snake! Soon I realized he had previously somehow managed to get sharps of glass into himself.” Hanji explained and as usual waved her hands as she was in the middle of lecture.

“No shit, brat was probably fucking scarred of your ugly mug.” he was the one to glance at the kid who slightly opened his mouth, letting out something sounding like a mixture between yawning and purring.

“I tried to get him to calm down, but since couple of my coworkers was approaching I was forced to use the tranquilizer and hid him in the boot. I just couldn’t let them take the kitty and turn him into some sort of experiment so he would spent entire life behind the bars.” boy stretched a bit in his sleep, she gently scratching the place behind his ears.

“Where did you get a fucking tranquillizer? Forget that, you actually drugged him?” black haired was no longer sure what to think about, everything was so freaking messed up.

 

“The files I went to retrieve were about new drug we were developing, among them were also few samples already loaded in syringe. I had to risk it otherwise he would end up worse than he was. Drug paralyzed him for about an hour, enough to call in sick, pack my stuff and get home. By the time I got home, it was starting to wane. I managed to somehow bathe him, take care of his wounds and put him in bed, but the last part was a bit of a struggle.” only now Levi noticed several scratches all over her arms, caused probably by boy’s claws “Then out of sudden kitty simply dropped off exhausted. Just like as someone would turn him off by remote controller. Soon you arrived.”

 

The explanation was so finished, man still putting everything together. Hanji seemed as she had several theories, but Levi raised his arm, gesture to wait.

“Are you absolutely sure he’s hostile?” the safety came first in discussion.

“If he isn’t I’m sure that I can tame him, though the struggle was more or less out of self-defense. Kitty didn’t really mean to cause harm. He was just scarred I guess.”she continued to stroke his head, noticing eyelids twitching more than before “Awww look who decided to wake up!”

 

Boy yawned, mouth opening wide as something similar to “meow” came out instead of any other human sounds. Still all curled up kid stared at the two individuals with both curiosity and fear in his big green eyes. Tail slowly proceeded to take place between his legs as the ears remained flat. From the movements Levi guessed that cat-boy was about to make a run for it. No wonder if the kid was face to face with obviously unknown people and new place to spice it up.

His terrified expression only grew when Levi approached him closer, boy nearly getting on his paws to run away.

 

Though he couldn’t

 

Not only due to fact that one of his paws was injured and he was shaking out of terror. Cat-boy might’ve woken up, yet he was exhausted, growling in his stomach giving the answer. Hanji nearly lost it when he looked up with teary eyes and making sounds that only the littlest kitten would. They truly expressed the helplessness of someone who was desperate to find some sort of comfort.

 

“You poor baby, you must be starving.” forgetting his claws and previous behavior brunette took him in her hands, boy instantly snuggling closer. Even if he would try scratching her, he was a way too weak and hungry to do it. Hunger was probably a reason to revert to helpless cub as well, thinking he will get food if pleading enough.

“Tsk what a spoiled brat.” Levi mumbled as he headed towards the kitchen, eyes searching through the shopping bag “What do you think he’ll eat?”

“I’m not sure…” Hanji followed, carrying the cat-boy in her arms, feeling his surprisingly light weight “Probably something nutritious. I have a feeling he hasn’t eaten in days.”

“But what exactly?” black haired set the possible foods on the table “What would both kid and cat eat?”

 

Brunette’s eyes went through possible choices, knowing she had to pick something soon. Boy was again dozing off, reason definitely being malnutrition. Wide eyes continued on searching until landing on the package of different cans.

 

“Think he’ll eat tuna?” she nudged on the cans, man instantly grabbing a can opener.

“I don’t know Shitty Glasses, you’re the fucking scientist, not me.” Levi mumbled as he gathered few of the smaller pieces of fish floating in olive oil on the plate.

 

Hanji took a place on the chair as the kid began looking around, ears standing upward when noticing a new environment. Taking a tiny spoon from the plate that Levi prepared, brunette firstly held onto the cutlery with food in front of boy’s nose. His tail twitched from the surprise, but seconds after he understood the gesture of offered food. Carefully sniffing it over, kid took little bites, letting Hanji feed him like a toddler. Eventually he ate the whole portion of tuna, finishing up with licking the tiny bits stuck on his mouth.

Satisfied with it, the enjoyment was short lived when less than twenty minutes later cat-boy’s face turned green and woman barely reached the bathroom where he emptied the contents of his stomach. Crying from the pain and nausea, boy seemed to be even worse than before, meowing like a kicked kitten. Woman could only dandle him, gently stroking boy’s back as mother would when burping her baby.

 

“Aww don’t cry. We’ll find something that you will keep down.” Hanji tried her best to stay positive, despite her heart breaking at upset cries “Any ideas?”

“Shitty brat sure has sensitive stomach.” Levi continued looking for anything edible enough to feed him if only for a while “To which half do you think his digestive system belong?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I’d say it’s neither. According to his behavior he looks as he’s stuck in his infant and kitten years, meaning he’s still helpless to tell what he wants.” brunette kept the cat-boy busy by letting him play with her ponytail.

“No shit, like that is helping.” man grunted, suddenly getting an idea when coming across the certain glass bottle.

 

“What about milk? It might not be as nutritious, but at least he’ll keep it down.” Levi already dragged it out of the fridge, Hanji immediately getting her smile back on.

“Oh you can use the set that Hannah borrowed me when I babysat her kid. By the time I’ve returned it she no longer needed it and said that I could keep it. It’s in the upper cupboard.” she pointed him into the right direction. Holding back the smirk when Levi took the chair to reach it, he brought out old but still useable baby stuff such as pacifier, chewing toys and most importantly baby bottle. Latter black haired took in second to wash it properly for several minutes while the milk was getting heated up in the microwave. Eventually the meal in form of heated milk and some mild herbs was ready, cat-boy nearly dropping off a few times before it was done.

 

Still skeptical if it’s going to work or not, she carefully leaned it against his lips so only few drops would enter. Moment the cat-boy felt the warm liquid he took a large sip, delighted expression being replaced by the upset one. Just in case even milk wasn’t good, Hanji let him have few larger sips and they waited for about half an hour. Seeing he wasn’t becoming nauseous or was disgusted by it, she continued to feed him. Slowly but surely, boy gulped down the milk, his tiny paws gripping onto woman’s hand gripping the baby bottle.

To make herself more comfortable, Hanji took a spot on couch, Levi taking the place next to her. Since the hungry kid interrupted their previous conversation, other eventually brought it back up.

 

“Glasses… what are you planning to do with him?” black haired watched the duo looking exactly like an ideal picture of mother and her child.

“I’ll keep him of course, as long as possible.” she giggled when boy hiccupped, removing the bottle for couple of minutes so cat-boy could take few big breaths “He needs someone who will take care of him.”

“Don’t you think the brat has an owner if not parents?” Levi couldn’t even imagine how his parents looked like if he was the mixture of human and cat “I know it sounds crazy, but did you by any chance checked if he has a chip or collar like regular lost pets?”

 

“Actually he had.” man didn’t expect reply, so he was even more surprised when she nudged at the object next to stationery phone. Picking it up, Levi was glancing at the leather collar, a single nametag hanging on it. Several numbers that didn’t make any sense and… a name?

 

“Eren?” black haired no more than whispered, but the cat-boy turned his ears towards direction Levi was standing the moment he said it as responding.

“So your name is Eren then? Nice to meet you, I’m Hanji.” woman playfully squeezed his uninjured pawn, Eren answering only with meowing sound.

“Don’t you know what that means Glasses? He has an owner.” Levi kept examining the collar.

“I know.” Hanji’s face turned blank as well as the tone of her voice “But if you look on the backside of nametag, you’ll know why I won’t return him.”

 

Clueless of what she was referring to, man looked at the specific part. The word wasn’t only written, but engraved as it was a part of massive production. There were only four letters plus four more following. At first the name didn’t seem special in any way. Only when remembering events from years ago the realization finally kicked him.

 

_SINA LABS_

He remembered well Hanji from the first few days when he came to live with her of how determined she was along with her protesting group to shut down the certain lab. Sina Laboratories used to be powerful pharmacy company that produced medications. From the outside it seemed just like any other medicine-producing-company like if it didn’t use the illegal methods of testing them on animals. Brunette was aware that some drugs had to be tested on living beings for the better future of humanity, but what Sina Laboratories done was simply cruel.

Not only did they perform extra painful experiments for the sake of insane curiosity, every single testing involved an animal sacrifice even if it was unnecessary. Knowing about Sina’s secrets, Hanji joined the protesting group Wings of Freedom, contributing extra big support due to her knowledge of laboratory and experimental policies. Strong voices and collection of signs managed to shut down Sina Laboratories for good, no longer than two years later.

 

It has been four years since then and Hanji was cradling something that could as well be one of Sina’s experiments. This meant Sina Laboratories weren’t shut down completely and were doing something far crueler than ever before.

 

Human experimentation joined the animal one. Result of it lying in brunette’s lab, gulping down the rest of the milk. Hanji remained calm, trying to focus on Eren by wiping the drops around his mouth. Levi on the other hand was slowly losing his cool, the turn of events confusing him to the point of snapping if not throwing something.

Fortunately Hanji’s cell phone rang.

 

“It must be Moblit. Here, help Eren finish up the bottle and give him more if he’ll still be hungry.” before he could protest, cat-boy was in his lap and baby bottle in hand. Two big green eyes watched him with interest as he pressed the dummy back to Eren’s lips, boy gratefully taking in into mouth. White liquid soon disappeared, but something told him it still wasn’t enough.

Warming up another bottle of milk while holding the kid with other, Levi heard brief yet gentle sound coming from the very form he was holding.

 

Eren was purring.

 

He didn’t know much about cats, but he knew well that cats purr only when they feel relaxed, happy and most of all safe. It meant Eren trusted Levi to keep him out of harm’s way.

Black haired was always a lone wolf, a stray that was capable of only taking care of himself. Anyone who would tag alone didn’t stay for long, even doomed if not avoiding him.

 

But somehow he was capable of taking care of Hanji, person most people would gave up for even holding a conversation with.

 

And now he held another stray who proclaimed him as his guardian.

 

“Meow?”Eren said, pointing towards the beeping microwave. For once in his lifetime, Levi smiled, taking the warm meal out and hugged cat-boy close to his chest, feeling a tiny heartbeat. True he didn’t like Hanji keeping the stray animals, but only because she was too busy and there were far nicer facilities meant for them.

 

Eren was the stray worth saving, his sad background and helplessness convincing enough to bring out Levi’s protective side.

 

“Meow!” boy exclaimed happily when he got to drink another bottle of milk.

“Take your time. You don’t need to be afraid of anything. As long as Hanji and me are around at least.” he whispered, furry paws touching his own hands like the softest cotton.

 

 

Meanwhile unknown to him, Hanji has already finished her call ages ago, listening to the happenings in the living room and kitchen. Quickly turning on the camera on her cell phone, brunette snapped the picture with always grumpy man feeding a little cat-boy while his face had one of widest and more importunately rarest smiles.

 

The photo will probably cover her cell phone's screen for a while.

 

 


	2. Saved and Sound in New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren settles in a new home, while the secrets of his origins are gradually revelaed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah... I have no idea where to begin. It's been a while since I updated anything so just to be clear, I'm not in any way planning to abandon any of the stories, it's just I hardly get time and mood to write them down. :D
> 
> One reason is that I was focusing a bit on my original works and paying attention to multiple stories can be tiring and confusing a lot. Other reason is also the fact that I hada bad case of writer block, wasn't feeling that good during the begining of spring (I'm alright now, so don't worry) plus I'm also having driving lessons and it turned out I'm a horrible driver so praise my driving instructor for putting up with me. XD
> 
> And the reason that I updated at all is becuase of all of you and your support. I wrote a single chapter and so many of you loved it, were curious about it and hoped I would update soon. I couldn't just ignored your awsome comments and number of kudos, so I really made sure the second chapter was long and written in details. 
> 
> So all of you thank you so much, kudos to you all as well.
> 
> I hope you Will enjoy the chapter.

Several bottles later Eren finally dozed off, nestling in Levi’s arms, much to his dismay. Hanji cooed at the adorable sight, gently caressing cat-boy’s ears while mumbling sweet things. It has been nearly four hours since black haired got home and only ten minutes since boy got the last bottle. As brunette went to rinse the baby bottle which was probably going to be used several more times, Levi wasn’t really sure what was he supposed to do.

 

He got it right that for now he shouldn’t move at all and play the pillow for the boy, but his back started to ache since he wasn’t used to sitting for a long time let alone with a sleeping child in his lap. Black haired would be more than glad to give him back to Hanji, however every time he’d try to move him from the spot in the lap and stomach, Eren would start twitching like a baby whose sleep just got disturbed.

 

“Four-Eyes this is getting uncomfortable.” man sighed, changing his sitting position yet another time “If I know right, cats can sleep up to 20 hours and I’m not planning to sit on my ass the whole day. Not to mention I should start making dinner.”

“I’m on it, I’m on it midget.” Hanji went through another book about animal anatomy “Why not putting a pillow under him and leaving him in your bed?”

“And vacuum the cat hair from it for the rest of the week? If anyone’s bed is going to be used it’s yours Glasses. You’ve already contaminated mine enough.” Levi scowled as he already headed for the other bedroom.

 

Hanji was at loss of words of what to say when man was already back, shaking off all the cat hair from Eren’s fluffy tail and paws that somehow managed to cover majority of his shirt. He was about to ask what happens now when Hanji simply set her hand in a leave-it-to-me way and told him to just go back to his routine, meaning preparing dinner while she goes to run some “errands and stuff”.

 

Not bothering with what that animal loving woman had under her sleeve, Levi placed himself behind kitchen counter where he could still see into Hanji’s bedroom where cat-boy rested. His tiny paws were hugging the pillow tightly as he was still in safe arms of black haired while tail lay flat without any activity. Unlike before Eren made no sleepy voices except for quiet whimpers from time to time. He was actually even cuter when sleeping, though the lack of his amazing green eyes was quite noticeable since they were like big emeralds.

 

Trying not to think about the sleeping kitten or even what Hanji was up to, Levi brought out all the ingredients needed for the dinner. Not to complicate already weird situation, lasagna sounded as a piece of normalcy plus it was simple and quick enough to be made. Spreading the homemade lasagna noodles over the baking tray he watched the filling being precooked. That being done the mixing of minced meat, onion and spices followed until the typical dinner dish was finished. Entire house was filled with tasty aroma of lasagna while it was baking, Levi not paying much attention to the familiar smell as he was far too busy with washing the tools and dishes used for preparing it.

 

He was about to place the plates on the table when he felt tingling yet fluffy feeling on his leg that nearly made him jump. Black haired immediately looked down, meeting up with a pair of glimmering eyes full of curiosity. For some odd reason Eren managed to sneak there without a notice.

 

It would be understandable for a regular person to miss a swift movement of a child (or in this case cat-boy), but not Levi. During his time on streets he’d have to learn to pay attention to every single detail and action going on around him. In case he hadn’t, it could cost him a lot. Another homeless guy would’ve robbed him of the little possessions he had had. Quickly dumped trash bag might’ve been containing still edible food. Hidden hole in the wall could’ve been leading to a temporary shelter.

So how could a hairy wonder, circling around his legs, be capable of passing his sharp eyes? Was it because he was a part cat? Or was it something more to the boy who was currently digging his face into man’s ends of pants. If he didn’t know better he’d called the sight adorable at how innocent everything looked, just like a cat trying to get attention from its owner.

 

“Oi brat, go back to bed.” Levi shook of his legs slightly, making Eren looking up with questioning meow “I don’t care how much Glasses cuddles you, but no shitty animals have entrance into kitchen.”

 

Black haired had absolutely no idea why he was saying this. Kid was on the level of a toddler and kitten, so there was no way he’d understand him, right? Cat boy only rubbed his head against Levi’s leg, other sighing at thinking of how he should get him out of the kitchen, until he was done with cooking at least. After all he didn’t want to have any animal hair or other filthiness in things he would later put in mouth. All dogs, cats or similar mammals that Hanji previously had were at least taught to avoid it at all cost.

 

“I’m serious, you have no fucking business here.” Levi simply picked kid up by his shirt, carrying him back into Hanji’s messy room “And stay there!”

 

Getting back to the table, not even a minute passed when cat boy was back limping a bit due to still injured paw, this time meowing with high pitch in exchange for attention. It might’ve worked for his roommate, but Levi wasn’t one bit affected with it. During his time on the streets he had heard more than enough of cat noise known as meowing in all kinds of versions, hating majority of it and soon learning how to ignore it.

That was exactly what he was doing now though Eren’s meowing, accompanied by gentle tugging of his baggy jeans and circling around him, was hardly avoidable.

 

“Damm brat, don’t make this so difficult.” man grabbed the back of boy’s oversized shirt as he lifted him up, facing him eye to eye “I don’t have fucking time for you, got that cotton ball?”

 

Still no idea why he was shouting at him as wanting him to respond, Eren flinched at the harsh tone bringing all of his paws to his belly as trying to protect his tiny form. Tail would nervously flip from side to side when ears dropped down along with eyes that somehow got bigger, nearly as big as Bambi’s.

 

“Meow…” quiet whine could be heard, but man was having none of it. He dragged him back to Hanji’s room and made sure the doors were properly closed, even placing a heavy bookcase against it. Kid won’t bother him there for some time, enough to finish everything up and by the looks of it brunette should’ve be back soon, she taking care of the cat-boy instead of him.

 

Time passed, the block working perfectly when preventing any Eren’s attempts to bother him. Some muffled meowing was heard, but that was about it. Not to pay much mind, Levi took the steaming dish out of the oven, smell feeling entire room if not house. Setting it down to cool off he reached for his old fashioned cell phone. He preferred the phones for actual calling and texting over the modern, touch-screen ones. Hanji had given him one in case she was unable to contact him with stationary house phone.

 

_Shitty Glasses: I only have one more stop. Feel free to start dinner without me, but save me a portion alright?_

What were those errands and stuff about again? Knowing Hanji, it could’ve been anything. He just hoped she didn’t get in trouble again since he really wasn’t in mood for getting her out of them. But anyway she had given him a green light for dinner and having had nothing since breakfast Levi’s mouth watered once cutting into it. The cheese over it was golden brown, perfectly baked and undoubtedly delicious.

 

Just when he was about to take the first bite, strange noise from the Hanji’s room was heard. For a second he thought it was nothing but soon enough louder noise proved him wrong. Only when he fully removed the bookcase he realized with horror what was going on.

 

Eren didn’t have claws as mere decoration next to his cat features. He was using them the very moment on the doors!

 

Levi remembered the numerous claw marks on Hanji’s arms, though what was happening to the doors was definitely far worse. Eventually the obstacle was removed and door opened wide with Eren stuck on them like glue with small pieces of wood lying on the ground. Man nearly wanted to punch himself for shutting him into the room due to own stupidity hoping that the doors would actually keep him in there. Wrong, the size of the claws, still stuck on the badly scratched wood, were much longer and thick compared to the average cat. Heck, them alone would much likely belong to a freaking tiger!

 

Echoing meowing brought him back into reality, staring at Eren who somehow managed to pull his claws on front paws off the doors. Brunet’s eyes were again filled with glimmering green as he crawled back to Levi, nudging his head against man’s legs. Black haired sighed for unknown time that day as he petted Eren’s fluffy head, making the cat-boy purr like the time when he had fed him with a baby bottle.

 

“What the fuck are you doing to me brat…” Levi asked in a rhetorical way while trying really hard to keep his cool. All of the past Hanji’s pets were like that, pitiful, helpless, cuddly and yet Eren was the only one who had made him lose all of his pride and brought his caring self from under the thick layer of his shell.

 

Ignoring the question Eren set his front paws up like a child who wanted to be lifted up and cuddle in the warm embrace. Giving up, Levi complied with kid’s demand as he took him into his arms, proceeding to place him into more comfortable position. It would’ve ended in similar way as Hanji’s profile phone picture of the duo if Levi would not have smelled something coming from the distant corner in brunette’s room. The last thing the man wanted in his day full of bizarreness.

 

“Brat, what the fuck did you do?”

 

 

….

 

 

Hanji needed a while before she located the place she hasn’t visited for couple of years. Although it still looked pretty much the same as the last time. People in uniforms going in and out, doorman directing a visitor to the right office and a line in front of a coffeemaker gave a perfect summary of the local police station.

 

Walking directly towards the chief’s office as it was her own home, she was pulled back just before grabbing the door handle. Hanji was about to cover whoever was holding her with curses and insults when she gazed upon really tall and fair haired man. To correct the theory of knowing him, guy leaned down, taking a good portion of her smell.

 

“Gee you never change Mike.” she moved aside, reaching for the door again.  

“Chief Smith has a meeting. You won’t find him in there.” Mike said making her turn back with childish grin.

“I only need him for five minutes.” Hanji dug through her bag “Or better tell I have to give him something.”

“You can leave it with me and I’ll hand it over to him once he finishes.” man crossed his arms, obviously not in the mood to deal with eccentric scientist with another crazy idea what to investigate.

“I appreciate your help, but the matter is pretty personal not to mention I’ll have a lot to explain to him.” brunette continued swinging her bag around to get some attention.

 

“What’s going on?” voice full of seriousness called, belonging to the broad shouldered man coming their way whose eyes were on the certain woman “Dr. Zoe?”

“Nice to see you Erwin.” she dropped any formality possible “Is your meeting done?”

“As a matter of fact it just ended shortly.” he hinted Mike it was alright and guy saluted before leavening “So what brings you here? Another animal cruelty to investigate? It sure has been a while.”

“Can we talk about it in the office?” Hanji said with a serious tone, one you wouldn’t expect her to use.

“Of course.” Erwin opened the door, letting the brunette get in first.

 

The office looked pretty much the same as the last time or better said it hasn’t changed at all since the first time Hanji has been in it. That time she had been wearing handcuffs and Erwin removing the rotten vegetable off himself before the interrogation. Apparently her protesting group Wings of Freedom had gone a little bit too wild against the local animal shelter where animals had been treated horribly and since she had been a leader, she was the one held responsible. Unfortunately for Erwin, who had still been a deputy at the time, bunch of rotten tomatoes landed on his face while trying to stop the demonstrating woman.

At first she had appeared to be just like any other animal-loving maniac as well to him as to the then chief Pixis. But after a long and detailed discussion regarding her own individual research and findings about the certain facilites, then deputy had taken her seriously and had managed to convince the chief and some other detectives to give her a hand.  Decision had turned out to be the smart one since Hanji not only found out solid evidences for crimes against animals that others were unable too, but she had also tracked down some criminals the police had been after for years. Trusting her enough to give away useful information, Erwin considered her as non-official assistant though outside his job she was good friend. Due to her focus on work lately, there were hardly any cases to help with so the two of them have hardly seen each other lately.

 

“I need your help.” Hanji immediately jumped on the subject of the conversation.

“I’m all ears.” blond took the seat behind the table, his tiny notebook and pencil at hand just in case.

 

Hesitantly brunette took a plastic bag from the inside pocket of her jacket, setting it on the table. Since the bag was transparent, he was able to see the leather collar and shiny nametag on it, giving her a questionable look.

 

“Missing dog case? Or a key evidence to international dog fights organization?” Erwin guessed, fully prepared for a nod since with Hanji he kind of got used to all kinds of cases.

“Actually… it was on the cat.” she started carefully “And I found SINA LABS signature on it, so I sort of suspected it got something to do with it.”

“SINA LABS? Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I remember we arrested every single high ranking employee. Not to mention their every single operating lab was either overtaken or destroyed. Perhaps it’s from the days when it was still operating?” he carefully picked the bag, analyzing the numbers on the collar “Speaking of which, you said you found it on a cat? Where is that cat now? It must be quite big specie since this thing could fit an average dog.”

“It’s err… my roommate is taking care of it?” Hanji shifted uncomfortably.

“Levi actually let you keep a pet?” Erwin’s huge eyebrows moved closer to his forehead “Aren’t you a bit busy with your work.”

“Look I’m not having the same lecture all over again.” she unexpectedly raised her voice at him “What I need are answers and you’re the only one who can get them. Please Erwin that poor kid… kitten had definitely seen all circles of hell and I want those SINA LABS bastards down once and for all. They might’ve hidden from the world, starting with their secret production for black market or something. Whatever it is it can’t be good.”

 

The whole time Hanji talked her eyes were practically pleading, so man reached for a paper bag meant for evidence.

 

“Very well then, I’ll have it analyzed for serial number, materials and possible traces of DNA. I’ll contact you if we find anything suspicious.” blond said while writing down all needed information on the bag “In the meanwhile please use the main door in the way regular citizen should, not like some maniac who lives here.”

“Noted! Thanks a bunch Erwin! I gotta go now!” brunette said everything in the same breath, giving him a quick hug and rushed out of the room.

“That woman will drive me insane…” he sighed as he peeked into the bag one more time, looking at the nametag “Eren… why does it sound so familiar?”

 

 

 …

 

Hanji drove at the maximum speed allowed to get home as fast as possible. True she hadn’t been planning on staying in the shopping mall long, but all pretty colors and adorable objects had made her forget about time completely. By the time she had loaded the shopping tray with all kinds of stuff, more than two hours had unknowingly passed. Moment she had realized it, Hanji had grabbed those last few things, had paid with her credit card, not even glancing at the price, and had driven the cart back to her car. A visit to the police station took her twenty more minutes until she was finally on the way home.

 

The neighborhood, if it could be called like that, where her house was located was truly on the edge of the town, majorly surrounded by woods. All houses near hers were more or less really old ones, since secluded area meant more distance from the town. The neighbors were so pretty much non-existent, the few of them that had actually lived here, were either older people or newcomers, looking for better homes in town. In those passed years all of them had moved, leaving decrypted houses behind and except for a couple real estate agents no one else beside her bothered to drive all the way here.

Location of the house was actually also another reason that had convinced Levi to stay. The streets of town had showed him the worst, so the atmosphere of practically no people and the forest had given him enough comfort to start a new.

 

“I’m home….” Hanji chirped happily, though not for long when the sharp scent of chemicals filled her nose “Damm Midget… did you really have to have your bleaching day today?”

 

Levi, whose hair and mouth were under the cleaning bandanas and hands in pink rubber gloves didn’t respond, only carrying a bucket full of dirty water outside to empty it. When he was back Hanji realized that the strong cleaning smell wasn’t coming from bathroom or kitchen, usual places with tiles that couldn’t possibly be left dirty for more than a day. No, as long as Levi was there you had to see yourself in them or at least every time he got a chance to scrub them clean. Luckily brunette somehow convinced him that bleaching everything three times per day was a little bit too much and after many heated discussions black haired was allowed to bleach clean only every other day.

 

Which was pretty bizarre considering he had already done that yesterday.

 

Looking around she noticed the door leading to her room wide opened, the mess from the previous night taken care of and the source of corrosive scent originating there. She was about to question why the sudden cleaning action of her room when the claw marks on the doors caught her eye.

 

“What did you do?” she turned back to man who was removing the gloves.

“What did I do?” black haired obviously wasn’t in mood to act nice “Ask the little shit what he did.”

“Eren?” Hanji realized she hasn’t seen the cat-boy ever since coming home.

 

Like a reaction to his named being called, fluffy, still little drenched head peaked from underneath the pile of towels on the couch. His emerald green eyes were wide, a little bit from being excited to see the nice woman and a lot from probably something else. Tiny thing was trembling and meowing quietly, which was for eccentric-animal-loving maniac way too much. She instantly took the kid into her arms, petting Eren behind his ears until he calmed down and snuggled closer to her.

“Alright Midget.” woman’s tone changed into the demanding one “What the hell did you do? I leave house for two hours and my room smells as it was sunken into the month’s supply of bleach, my doors look like it came from Jurassic Park scene and poor thing is scared to death?!”

 

For years Levi hadn’t given two shits about Hanji’s lectures and demands since most of the time she was just being drama or wrong. Like she was simply a barking dog he untied the two bandanas off his head and gave her one of his now-you-listen-to-me-Shitty-Glasses looks to make her quiet.

 

“Firstly, the little shit peed himself, technically on your bed. You should be grateful for the thoroughly cleanout of your entire room.” his look remained the same as well as the harsh tone he was currently using “I even gave him a proper bath.”

“But cats are supposed to be clean by nature and could easily be taught where they needed to do their business.” she was confused why would Eren do it right there if he wasn’t marking the territory, though claw marks on the doors spoke the other story “Unless… he was unable to go anywhere but there.”

“Don’t look at me, due to your constant cuddling he would keep coming in the kitchen for more.” Eren flinched at the strict voice “We had a deal that all of your animals have no entrance to the kitchen.”

“Midget… home kittens like to stay in the same room as their owner because they feel safer. It probably terrified him when you literally imprisoned him in there plus the nature call only worsened his insecurity.” Hanji mumbled to herself as she gently rocked the cat-boy to short nap.

“Where were you anyway? You could’ve at least told me and not bombard me with useless questions as I’m the bad guy.” Levi headed for the kitchen, checking the oven containing their still warm dinner.

 

Writing off the short argument as unnecessary one, brunette stroked Eren’s head few more time until his ears flattened and tail tangled around him. The moment she made sure he was asleep without twitching, she laid him on the couch covering his small form with the same pile of towels and blankets.

 

“To answer your question, I went to get some stuff for him since we’re keeping him of course.” surprisingly she didn’t headed back to the car, but sat down at the table “Though let’s eat first, I’m starving.”

 

Not saying the word, black haired brought the homemade lasagna, its delicious aroma nearly making her just to grab the fork and eat it straight from the baking tray. The last heated discussions they kept inside about the previous situation gradually faded in the taste of rightfully cooked pasta, seasoned minced meat and melting cheese. Levi’s cooking always had the magic to calm down even the most burning argument and that sat well with him due to his trouble when talking honestly and yet sounding like the biggest asshole.

 

The moment Hanji’s plate was scrubbed clean (not by Levi’s standards), she instantly went back to the car to bring the bought stuff back in the car. On the way there she didn’t say anything about needing help, so she just let black haired to wash the dishes and turn his precious kitchen in his spotlessly clean fantasy. By the time he was done with plates, tray and cutlery, Hanji was back, struggling with a box containing not one or two, but five freaking gallons of milk!

 

“Are you really sure brat will drink that much?” man was amazed by the pure sight of the number of milk since the store he’d usually gone was selling only average one liter milk cartons.

“Well if my calculations are right that’s just enough for about a week. Taking Eren’s weight and appetite in calculations, he should drink at least two liters per day, maybe more considering he’s a little underweight and milk is the only source of his nutrition.” she talked to herself when she already went back for another, bigger box.

“Just how much did you spend for the brat? And is all of this stuff really necessary?” he nearly cringed at the sight of half of pet store and baby store in a huge box and another one Hanji had brought a moment later.

“To be honest I have no idea. I just grabbed anything that could come handy for Eren.” she scratched her head at the sight of what exactly she had bought.

“Three different baby blankets? Ten chewing toys in all colors possible? Fucking twenty plush toys?” Levi went through the box’s contents “Seriously Glasses?”

“He will feel much safer with all this fluffy and soft stuff around. Don’t you remember how relaxed he was when he was safely tucked under the blanket? I mean the first time I’ve seen him in that alley he was definitely chilled to the bone because of the rain and when he’d seen me he aggressively attacked me. But once I got him warmed up he turned into this innocent little kitten.” woman said in way when she wanted to convince the other in her way which by some miracle worked this time.

 

Not bothering with any more protest since it was obvious that Hanji was very serious about keeping Eren for a long time, Levi helped emptying the rest of the boxes. Some things were actually a smart purchase such as the brand new set of baby bottles and scratcher. Old set from Hanna was questionably clean, so a new one was more than welcome as well as the scratcher. Kid’s claws were quite long when out of the paws and not wanting door’s fate happen to the furniture, sharping tool was a life saver.

 

While taking out some semi-useful things, such as the collar with a bell, Hanji surprisingly brought yet another box. This one was a bit smaller from the first two, covered with lots of protective foil. Once it was off, brunette brought out a plush and polyester dog basket that would certainly fit even the biggest shepherd dog breed. Considering this, Eren was actually quite small for a ten year old and the bed looked quite big for his size. Either way Levi didn’t mind it since he was glad Hanji had taken him seriously when he had refused to have the cat-boy anywhere near his own bed. Another thing to prove that was a set of children clothes, meaning kid had some other clothing besides Levi’s clothes.

 

It actually reminded him of his first time receiving clothes, only a few days later after he had moved in with Hanji. Even though he had been fine wearing her old clothes, mostly oversized sweatshirts and tracksuits, she had insisted on buying him new ones. The trip to the mall had been extremely stressful for him despite not looking like a homeless man, wearing rolled up pants, her smallest t-shirt and the most gender neutral jacket she had had. He remembered how he had insisted on grabbing two pairs of jeans and few T-shirts from the used-clothing store, but before he could’ve finished he had been already pushed into a brand new clothing store. Even there he had been protesting and refusing though in the end he had filled entire wardrobe with new clothes.

 

At first he had been fairly pissed off, still determined to wear her old clothes and not even cutting the prices off new clothes (which were way more expensive than the ones from the used ones). But sooner or later he had realized it was better to just suck up his pride and put them on. Then for one month straight he had been cleaning entire house to the fullest, even cleaning the gaps between tiles and weeding entire area around the house that wasn’t forest. He had only stopped when Hanji had calculated the prices of his services and had compared them to professional cleaning companies. Levi felt better after paying off and around that time he had become used to living with her, not overly worrying about being in debt to her. Of course he had been still cleaning to the fullest, even learning how to do some other chores like preparing food, grocery shopping and doing laundry.

 

Eren’s purring brought him back in reality as Hanji began to stroke the spot behind the ears. The rest of the boxes’ contents were pretty much a mixture of useful, semi-useful and random things, but as long as Hanji felt they were necessary for Eren to feel as comfortable and as home as possible it seemed just fine.

 

Once bigger objects were set in the empty spaces of the living room, milk in the fridge, children’s clothes in the spare wardrobe and all the toys stored in various places, the house seemed more suitable for the cat-boy. The said kid was waking up due to sudden stomach rumbling at which Hanji smiled and went to prepare some milk for him.

 

In the meanwhile Eren’s curious eyes examined the major change in the living room. Slowly he started crawling around, smelling the toys and rubbing his back against some certain new objects. From what Levi knew about cats, Eren was leaving his scent on things he considered as his. Even though black haired didn’t want him to cause the mess by moving anything that had been carefully tidied up minutes before, he somehow managed to control his urge to let him explore and not fixing every single change.

 

Eren was particularly interested in box full of toys, staring at the plush toys with sparkles in his emerald eyes. After what felt like minutes he grabbed a plush tiger, which was nearly half of his size, with his teeth, bringing it back to sofa with excitement. He proudly showed it off to Levi as it was his prized possession and then hugged it as it was his best friend.

 

“Aww, I knew he would like Mr. Tiger.” Hanji returned with half-liter baby bottle full of milk.

“That’s really original name, Glasses.” Levi mumbled as he nudged to Eren it was dinnertime.

“Are you seriously arguing about a name of a plush animal?” she waited for the cat-boy to pick on the scent of warm milk and get in her lap ready for his meal “Is kitty ready for some yummy dinner?”

 

Eren only blinked in response since his mouth was already wide open. Unlike the last time he drank rather fast, gulping down entire thing in less than a minute. When finished, mouth remained opened, revealed he actually had few cat teeth besides regular human ones. Hanji reached for the second bottle that she prepared just in case it wasn’t enough and good thing she was right. Eren’s appetite was truly gluttonous as he finished with the second serving in a similar amount of time, maybe even faster.

 

“Gee, good thing I got more milk considering how much you can get in that tiny belly of yours.” Hanji playfully moved it away from his mouth, Eren making a face whenever he failed to grab it “Hold onto the sweetheart a bit while I prepare him the round two.”

 

Yet again the brat was in his lap, eyes still filled with fear from before and body staying still as frozen. Levi sighed as he didn’t want to deal with him while Hanji was very slow at preparing milk, making Eren letting out quiet meowing sounds in her direction. To distract him if only a bit, black haired reached for the tiger plush, placing it in kid’s paws. Cat-boy was overjoyed at the familiar soft toy as he cradled it in his furry hands.

 

It didn’t take too long for Hanji to get back, Eren nearly not noticing her as he was busy playing with the plush tiger. He really got attached to it since he wouldn’t let go of it even when bottle was in his mouth.

 

“I mixed a little of protein powder and vitamins. Hopefully it would help him get back to original weight.” she nudged at the jars containing powders in various colors.

“If he doesn’t throw up it shouldn’t do damage to him. Though I’m not in the mood for another bathroom cleaning.” he mumbled while watching Eren gulping down the rest “What will you do about your work?”

“I’ve been an exemplary worker for more than four years, even too much for that matter. They’d let me call in sick for perhaps the rest of the week, but then… I’ll probably need to return back.” Hanji’s happy tone faded as she was very well aware of that fact.

 

For the following week she could handle Eren, taking care of his basic needs and give him the love he needed. But what then? Before the previous situation, Hanji had been convinced Levi could’ve taken care of the cat-boy with no problem since she had managed to convince him into doing the same with her previous pets. But the state in which Eren had been as a result of leaving him with Levi in only two hours made her conclude.

 

Eren wasn’t a pet, he was a child.

 

Pets could deal with being ignored and staying put which sat great with Levi. But to give him the much needed comfort? Man didn’t seem as the right material for that.

 

“I know what you’re thinking, so don’t worry too much about it. I’ll take care of him.” Levi said as he heard her every single thought.

“Are you sure about it? Eren isn’t some puppy or cat who can be tamed like one. He will be hard to deal with all you standards and strict routine. He might not listen to you and…” her deeper tone made even the kid slightly flinch.

“Glasses, now I know what I’m dealing with. He’s a brat, not an animal, or more likely both. I will learn what he needs and all that shit during the time when you’ll still be there.” man replied surprisingly gentler than usual.

 

In that moment Hanji didn’t know what to say. Her emotions gripped right at her heart as the tears came streaming down her face.

 

“What now Glasses?” Levi’s eyes narrowed at the reaction he didn’t expect.

“You really do care about him! Awww Midget I’d never knew you’d willingly do something like that!” still with Eren in her arms she hugged Levi so tight she nearly knocked him out cold on the couch “I don’t know how to thank you!”

“You can start with bringing me the tissues, so I can wipe out your filthy snout off my shirt.” he grumbled at the dirty clothing “Then you can start teaching me.”

 

When the tears of joy dried she placed dozing Eren in his arms, not forgetting to put the plush tiger in his paws. With Eren seemingly not falling asleep yet, Hanji suggested to teach him what to do in case he needed to go. Firstly they got him out of Levi’s old shirt and rather put on one of the new outfits. To match his emerald eyes, brunette picked light green hoodie with big grey pocket and baggy brown khaki pants. They didn’t bother with socks since cat-boy’s paws were much too big to fit, plus if he were to bring the claws out, fabric would tear. Eren didn’t protest at all at the clothes, even enjoying the chewing on the ropes hanging on the hood.

 

Putting him back on the ground, on fluffy grey carpet (another of Hanji’s purchases) boy went back to exploring the parts of living room he couldn’t had before. The whole time he crawled, even when he was curious of seeing what was above his level of sight he either raised his head or tried to climb on an object to see better. But he never tried to stand up or use his legs for that matter. As Hanji pointed out the back legs were simply being dragged along wherever Eren went, not moving on their own one bit.

 

Despite Levi’s warning, Hanji decided to test out Eren’s legs to see if they’re functioning at all or cat-boy merely didn’t know how to walk. As gently as possible, brunette placed her hands underneath his armpits slowly lifting him up. Eren dropped a toy mouse he’s been holding in mouth from surprise, staring at her as he was asking what she was doing.

 

Still in her hold, she took him around the area where the carpet was, back paws slipping through the thick and soft fabric. She tried to encourage him to actually step on them, but it wasn’t clear if Eren could do it or not. He partly understood the gestures referring to walk, his feet however made no major movement. Hanji sighed as her attempts were anything but working, placing cat-boy back on the floor.

 

Everything would probably be fine if Eren’s new clothes weren’t so slippery underneath the armpits, causing her to drop him. For a few brief moments Eren was standing on his own. Hanji was about to overjoy at that fact when boy suddenly collapsed on the floor, sobbing as he was just harshly punched in the gut.

 

“Oh dear, what’s wrong sweetie?” brunette immediately picked him back into protective hug, trying to find out what made him cry so hard.

“I doubt little shit can tell you.” Levi noticed that boy was cradling his knees “What if his legs are somewhat injured?”

“Only one of his front paws was hurt when I brought him here. Back ones should be alright…” she looked for the tiger plush that seemed to do a trick when calming Eren down so far.

 

Surprisingly a mere toy made him stop crying in rather short amount of time. Hugging his soft friend, cat-boy reverted back to silent kitten as Hanji stroked his head. For a while the duo decided to better just give him some time so whatever pain that was causing him discomfort would fade away.

Levi eventually grew bored so he went to pick the laundry off the drying racks and prepare them for ironing. He was folding up the last pile when he heard familiar eccentric chirping that could only belong to Hanji. Peeking through the semi-shut doors, brunette was seen with Eren in her arms going in the bathroom, staying there until several minutes later. Levi was about to knock and asking just what was going on when Hanji opened them with a strength that nearly sent him flying across the room.

 

“Guess what, Midget! Guess what!” completely oblivious to what could’ve happened Hanji stormed out of the bathroom.

“Don’t be so fucking loud, I can hear you just fine.” he grunted while covering his ears from the massive noise.

“Eren has cat’s instinct I talked about!” she literally shoved Eren into his arms as he was some sort of successful experiment.

“About which shitty instinct?” Levi held onto the kid as he curiously looked around for his tiger plush.

“You know when I said that cats are clean by nature! Eren actually gestured he had to go and even tried to take the pants off by himself, but was unable to due to the paws!” Hanji literally glowed from excitement, playfully squeezing Eren’s cheeks “You’re such a good boy!”

 

Despite being a little uncomfortable by having his face pinched, cat-boy was taken by woman’s happy tone of voice, letting her praise him in her way. Not a moment later Hanji rushed in the kitchen, grabbing a bag with colorful letters and pictures of fruit. She reached for the little red one shaped like strawberry and held it in front of Eren’s mouth. Sensing a new unknown object, cat-boy firstly gave it a good sniff as he wasn’t sure if it was edible or not.  But once nostrils announced that sweet aroma didn’t appear harmless, Eren swallowed something that looked like a treat.

 

“What exactly did you give him?” Levi studied the name on the bag _Rainbow Rush_ and also other similarly fruit shaped treats.

“It’s a baby candy, made out of easy to digest ingredients. I’ve though it could come handy when teaching Eren through reward/punishment tactic. Cat treats didn’t seem suitable due to mixture of chemicals that could irritate his sensitive stomach.” she put away the bag in the top cupboard, out of Eren’s reach “Rainbow Rush was recommended by the seller in the baby store.”

 

From what Hanji claimed, candy appeared to do no harm to Eren at all, even several minutes later. Kid only licked his lips as trying to enjoy any remaining bits of the strawberry taste in his mouth while crawling around the living room again.

 

With the daylight in the house gradually fading it was clear that day was coming to an end. If it was a usual day, Levi would go through the list of chores for the next day, checking if everything was alright. Hanji would normally still be at work, returning home sometime late if not staying over in the lab. Even when coming home, woman would still work at something, usually passing out at the desk or sometimes by some miracle on the bed, creating the mess. The mess Levi would clean the next day.

 

And so on.

 

If she had come home at reasonable hour they would eat dinner together and watch television a bit. Hanji preferred crime tv shows or science fiction movies. During first few years living with her Levi had watched whenever she watched since he had never before seen a television other than in the electronic store’s display window and even then it always showed the same boring football match.

 

Later, once he got more comfortable living with Hanji, he had discovered he had had a passion for horror movies. She all excited of course, instantly buried him under the pile of the latest blockbusters, though for some reason Levi liked to watch B rated horror movies. It was almost hilarious to see the duo watching them, with Hanji freaking out at every jump scare while Levi wouldn’t even flinch while devouring the popcorn.

 

With Eren now to take care for it was obvious their routine had to be changed. Little guy was still full of energy as he was overturning the sparkly ball all over the place and watching the moving lights it created. He still crawled when doing it at which it was clear he was somehow unable to walk on the last two legs.

 

To make him at least a little bit sleepy, Hanji decided to give him a warm bath despite being the third one that day. Either way brunette assured it was to relax him and give him a good experience since both first and second time in the bathtub were likely nearly traumatizing to him.

 

“Alright little shit, bath time.” Levi took Eren in his arms, unaware of what was in store for him while Hanji gathered towels, shampoos, conditioners, soaps, combs and other things necessary for the bathing. Boy truly realized what was going to happen when brunette began to fill up the tub and man tried to undress him. With horror in eyes Eren backed away, looking for any kind way out of the nightmare.

 

Fortunately Levi predicted something like that would’ve happened, so he had locked the bathroom doors right after coming in. In only a hoodie, Eren ran around the tiny bathroom, avoiding every drop of water like a plague while desperately trying to find the way out. He had barely remembered the first bath in there, but it was certainly better than the second time when Levi would hold him in a tight iron-like grip and literally peel the filth off him. The mere thought of the man made him shiver and he was definitely terrified when Levi finally caught him. Eren whined, clawed and even tried to bite as black haired removed the rest of the clothing.

 

By that time Hanji managed to fill the bathtub with warm water with also added bubble liquid soap. Water was filled with many violet colored bubbles as well as smelling like fresh lavender after the rain. Its scent partly calmed the flinching cat-boy a bit, but only until he got into the tub. Like previous two times water made him extremely uncomfortable, his ears and fur on paws completely drenched was his way of disgusting.

 

He was about to express his protest and entire misery in one shrieking meow when brunette quickly placed an object in front of him.

 

“Awww don’t be afraid. This won’t take too long nor will it hurt in anyway. Here.” Hanji brought it closer to kid’s eyes, revealing to be a rubber duck and squeezed it, letting out a typical quacking sound “Miss Ducky will keep you company until then. She can talk with you if you give her a hand-hug. Like this.”

 

Like with the plush tiger, rubber duck also proved to work miracles. Eren was completely astonished by the so called talking duck and every time it quacked, he meowed back as trying to strike a conversation with it. While talking with Miss Ducky, boy was unaware that Hanji put special bathing cap on him, to shield his eyes from the leaking shampoo. She did the first doze of shampooing, demonstrating to Levi how to gently undo the knots, massage the scalp and avoid the insides of ears. The second one was done by the man who was surprisingly as gentle as he had promised he would.  Finishing up with mild hair conditioner being rubbed into the puffy head and combed through with ridicules baby brush shaped like unicorn, Eren’s hair was shining as it was made from the silk.

 

Now that the hair was done, the rest was next to come, proving to be a bit more difficult since Eren seemed to finish the _conversation_ he had with rubber duck. Though in those twenty minutes when his hair had been washed, boy wasn’t as frightened as he had before, the warm water no longer bothering him. He was still a bit fidgeting when pink sponge would make a contact with his soft skin, especially with his knees, but otherwise he wasn’t being aggressive or trying to run away.

 

Once the roses based shower gel was washed off him, the bath was over. Shaking all excess water off his furry head, paws and tail even brunette and black haired unwillingly had a bit of the washing time. Hanji wrote it off as a playful joke and giggled while drying off Eren with a towel. As for Levi… let’s just say he wasn’t as pleased as the woman, grabbing a towel himself as he headed back to his room for change of clothes.

 

Returning back with pajamas for cat-boy, Levi got lesson on how to gently blow dry kid’s hair. Despite the quite loud noise from the machine, Eren sat on bathroom mat still, cradling the rubber duck in his paws. After he was all clean and dry, boy got the light blue pajamas on. For some reason Hanji picked ones that had cat ears sewn on the hood like Eren wasn’t cat-like enough.

 

It seemed as bath really made cat-boy sleepy as he was yawning to the point of showing all of his human and cat teeth. Hanji only gently took him into her arms, showing one last thing to take care of before the bed. Levi expected he would need to brush mouth since it was impossible for him to hold the toothbrush with his big paws. He was nearly correct when brunette brought out the bag of some sort of chewing candy, dog version of chewing gum. It wasn’t that difficult, though they had to be careful so Eren wouldn’t swallow it.

 

 

With body throughout washed, teeth cleaned and ready to pass out every second, Eren was finally ready for bed. Hanji covered the basket with all newly bought blankets and soft toys to make it look like a warm nest. There Eren was placed, eyes already closed and ready for the nap.

 

“Just to warn you he might or might not wake up during the night, mostly in the case he would need to go, so leave the doors opened.” brunette explained before getting ready for bed herself “I’m really glad you’ll take care of him Midget.”

 

Levi snorted in response which was his way of agreeing and taking gratitude. Before going back to his room, he glanced at the fluffy bundle which was Eren right next to mildly lit night light. Kid might’ve been here for less than a day and yet he’d already changed their living room, daily routine and in some way their hearts.

 

The strays they’d kept wouldn’t be there for long since they considered themselves as being unable to take care of them and rather looked for a better home. Hanji would emotionally attach to every single one while Levi would simply take care of them as fellow living beings. Despite all the tears, arguments and excuses brunette would eventually let go of them in case there was a better place for them.

 

But not Eren.

 

Like Levi before him he was alone with nowhere else to go. He was different in so many ways, similar to the black haired whose personality was strong, but deep down he hid many fears. Although he would never admit, he had been lost and needed help. Luckily Hanji was there for him that time and this time she was there for Eren. Levi wouldn’t be surprised if brunette turned out to be a guardian angel, picking up strays that world abandoned.

 

Just before going back, Levi leaned down to Eren, making sure the edges of blanket were evenly folded and boy properly tucked in. Despite the springtime it was still pretty cold, so little guy had to be kept warm. To check the blankets would be enough, but that wasn’t all that Levi did.

 

Gently removing those few locks of hair on cat-boy’s forehead, Levi gave him a tiny and quick peck. It was nothing big, just a way to ensure he will keep him safe for Hanji. She was guardian angel alright, but even angels can get their hands full.

 

Without another sound, black haired went back to his room, not seeing that Eren’s still lips formed a smile.

…

 

 

The rest of the week went pretty much the same as the first day. Eren would wake up sometime in the morning, coming straight to Hanji’s or Levi’s room meowing for milk and attention. During the time that brunette was still home they took turns to who would take care of him. Cat-boy needed to be fed up to six times in a one day in order to help him get back to original weight. He also needed help when using bathroom, washing up and dress up.

 

Otherwise he was just fine on his own. He would play with numerous toys Hanji purchased with plush tiger still being his favorite. One time he nearly clawed the shit out of Levi just because he took his prized possession away in order to clean it up. Like a typical cat he enjoyed chasing the robotic mouse, though he rarely caught it with the state his legs were in.

 

The mystery behind the actual injury bugged Hanji a lot. Even after fifty times of checking out his legs, brunette failed to find any kind of sign what was wrong. From the outside it appeared to be fine. No bruisers, cuts or even scars for that matter weren’t found raising a theory that whatever was wrong was inside. For that she kind of planned to bring him to his lab one time, just to make few researching tests to see what she was dealing with.

 

That however needed to wait for a while. Eren was still fidgeting about quite a lot of things such as sharp objects like knives, scissors or the needles from her lab. One time in particular he was absolutely terrified of her, hiding under the table without any intention of coming out.

 

And all she did was trying on the new lab coat after her last one was a bit damaged by spilled acid.

 

The look in Eren’s eyes was of absolute horror, like an animal about to being slaughtered. Even after she took it off, cat-boy wouldn’t come close, letting only Levi to touch him. The same would repeat next couple of days until he was like trusting her all over again. Hanji was relieved it was only temporary since she cared for him dearly and would be definitely heartbroken if he were to avoid her at all times.

 

However the similar thing happened once she returned back to work. Coming back at late hours Eren would give her a greeting meow, but that was about it. He didn’t hide from her and yet he was seemingly uncomfortable whenever she was too close.

 

She quickly concluded it was probably from the scent she brought along from the lab. The smell of chemicals, disinfectant and steel were definitely a reminder from where he had escaped from, the horror that had been done to him.

 

Hanji did her best to wash off the stench as fast as she could once getting home to at least broke down a little of painful reminder. With Levi on the other hand Eren no longer had any fears yet. First few times in the bath were still a bit difficult to enjoy, but once cat-boy really realized nothing bad would happen he was no longer afraid. He would excitedly pop the bubbles, tried to hold the breath under the water as long as possible or stroke a conversation with Miss Ducky while Levi would wash his hair and body.

 

At times he would also crawl to him as simply being near him. If black haired read or watched tv, Eren would be somewhere near, napping or curiously watching what he was doing. The closeness between the two was getting bigger and bigger, until Eren would literally get in his lap, dozing off in peaceful nap expressed through quiet purrs.

 

Levi didn’t mind, in fact he enjoyed the warm body in his arms, petting the soft fur and sometimes even saying sweet things. The two strays found comfort in each other, treasuring every single moment when they could enjoy the calm time Eren’s quiet purring being the only source of sound.

 

When Eren wasn’t napping, he was full of energy, playing with the toys or simply exploring the house. One time he was even allowed to go to the backyard while being on leash for safety reasons. He didn’t make it farer than to the part where woods began, though he managed to get the whole pile of dirt, grass and leaves on himself. Levi sure was happy to wash the said filth off him.

 

 

…

 

 

About three weeks had passed since Eren was found and yet they still had no idea how exactly was he involved with SINA LABS. In one way it was clear he was a product of cruel crossbreed experimentation, but his abnormalities were created was still unclear. Hanji had few theories, though without Eren allowing the testing them out in his current state, was still pretty much impossible. Despite the gleaming curiosity, Hanji simply didn’t have it in her heart to preform anything that would scare the poor boy the more he already was.

 

She would phone to Erwin about the collar, but even weeks later they only got unknown DNA that was probably Eren’s though they couldn’t connect it to any missing or registered person. There were also few other traces of DNA with unknown origins. Serial number or materials didn’t lead to any new clues. Hanji insisted on checking it further which Erwin hardly refused, giving the collar to one of his private forensic investigators. Still, hardly any new information on found on the collar.

 

 

…

 

 

Like the last few mornings in the row, Levi woke up with slight weight on his chest. After majorly growing attached to the man, Eren would start waking up in the middle of the night, crawling out of the basket to get to his bed. At first Levi though that cat-boy needed bathroom or was craving a midnight snack, but sooner or later he found out why.

 

Eren wanted to be near him while he slept.

 

Like during the naps, boy felt safe in his arms, knowing everything would be alright. At the first couple of nights sleeping in Levi’s bed, Eren would twist and turn, letting out meows full of discomfort and fear. To calm him down Levi would hold him close to himself, knowing Eren craved close touch and protection. The warmth did the magic as well since boy no longer shivered as the man’s arms were like one of the thick blankets.

 

In the morning Levi would wake up, take still sleeping Eren back to his basket and vacuum all the cat hair off his bed. He was still annoyed by the messes cat-boy did, but that didn’t mean he hated him. After all it wasn’t boy’s fault his hair would regularly fell off.

 

Though this time, waking up felt a bit different.

 

The first change he spotted was his slightly wet shirt. Thinking what could be wrong, Levi looked up meeting face to face with Eren’s tear streamed face.

 

That wasn’t like him at all.

 

True Eren crying was nothing new, but crying without a reason was. Man got into sitting position to hold kid closer to him. At times his heartbeat would be like calming lullaby, though this time it didn’t help. Kid started to sob as he threw paws around Levi’s neck, begging to no let him go. Black haired looked for the plush tiger that kid would bring along every time he’d snuck into his bed. Even the comforting toy didn’t have power over what Eren was crying about.

 

“Shhh brat it’s alright.” he rocked him back and forth to lessen his cries “Everything is fine.”

“No it’s not.” unknown voice said making Levi flinch since he wasn’t sure from where it was coming from “I don’t know where I am.”

 

No longer than now, man realized it was actually Eren talking, his voice was similar to his meows, but dozen times more mature, even for a ten year old. Completely speechless of what just happened man realized that even kid’s eyes changed a bit. Unlike the gleaming emerald eyes with shrunken pupil, they reverted to normal bright green eyes.

 

“Who are you?” Eren asked since Levi was still too frozen from surprise to respond.

 

 

…

 

 

Erwin was at home sipping at his morning coffee while going through the today’s newspaper. Majority of the news appeared to be pretty much the same as the ones from yesterday, until his eyes spotted a tiny article that brought him closer to read it.

 

**_Five years since Trost’s General Orphanage burnt down under suspicious circumstances and investigators still can’t tell the reason why_ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now. :D 
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter. I majorily used my sister's cat for reference ;) 
> 
> As for the next chapter I can't really say when will it be done since my finals are coming closer and closer plus even my summer vacation will be pretty busy. I will try though. :D
> 
> Comments, kudos, questions and wishes highly appreciated. Any kind of opinion will help me make the story better and probably make me update faster ( I mean look what the previous comments already did ;) )
> 
> Until then, take care and thank you a lot for reading my story. Neko Eren is sending hugs to everyone :D


	3. Who are you Eren?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Eren's backstory is revealed and someone makes a shocking discovery.
> 
> Warning: some bloody scenes in this chapter (but since you've watched SNK it probably won't matter XD)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :D
> 
> I'm so sorry, for not updating for a year. It has been a pretty busy year or me and I kept having serious cases of writer block (meaning I would just sit up and have no idea what to do with an empty page), so yeah no writing. But since I've seen some of the readers still wanting for me to continue this story, I got my motivation back and even though it took me months before I was satisfied, I've finally made it happen. ;) I've also constructed the rest of the story (original script didn't really have a decent storyline going, just cutesy ideas of kitty Eren and Levi XD), so yeah I think something will come out of this.
> 
> Enjoy the update!

“So Eren can speak?!” Hanji spilled nearly all of her coffee on Levi.

“Glasses I just washed this shirt!” black haired flinched more out disgust rather than pain when hot contents covered the majority of his clothing.

“Sorry about that… But seriously! Eren is capable of talking!!!” scientist shouted while Levi was already on his way to the washing machine “This totally changes my theory!”

“What kind of theory?” man more or less mumbled, but questions like those were always within range of Hanji’s hearing.

“Well, it’s kinda hard to explain… let me just go grab some stuff,” she replied as she headed towards her room, that was as messed up as usually.

 

On the way to the storage under the pretense of being her room, she couldn’t help herself but glance upon Eren who was curled up in his basket, sleeping like a baby. According to Levi, the little guy had cried himself to sleep after uttering out those few sentences. Before the man could’ve got Hanji, boy was already sleeping, either due to exhaustion from being so upset or simply because it had been still too early for him to get up.

Anyhow, black haired had started the day, as usual, putting Eren back into the basket and vacuuming all excess pile of cat hair, which was way bigger than usual. From what he had known it could be from kid stressing out too much. Once he had been done preparing breakfast, Hanji had woken up by herself since she had been trying her best to take part in taking care of the cat-boy.

 

Once Levi got his coffee-stained shirt in the washing machine and a fresh one on himself, Hanji already managed to set a huge whiteboard in the living room. Wiping away all unrecognizable equations, formulas and other mumbo jumbo Levi had no idea about (his knowledge of science barely reached the high school level from what Hanji had managed to teach him), brunette drew a single straight line with a black marker.

 

“Imagine this as Eren’s timeline.” she marked the near end of the line with number 10 “According to his physical appearance he’s around ten years old, though mentally I’d say he’s somewhere in his toddler if not infant years.”

“Meaning?” Levi tried not to sound too impatient.

“Well, you said Eren managed to pull an entire sentence together which toddlers are usually still unable to, not to mention he responded to you really fast, proving he can properly talk with adults. Again, this can be only common with children around at least 8 years old at most. Though that’s not the theory, I was going to introduce you to.” Hanji slid the marker back at the beginning of the line.

“Knock yourself out then.” Levi crossed his hands while staring at the board.

“The thing is… when I was thinking of possibilities of how SINA LABS could make a human-cat hybrid, only the mutations in the DNA during the cell form came into my mind… eh, the meddling with the subject before it’s even born.” Hanji kept it simple for him to understand “But if he’s capable of understanding and responding to you, it can only mean that Eren used to be a completely normal child.”

“How can you tell?” Levi’s eyes widened from unexpected information.

“Even though there are many species of birds that can imitate human speech and mammals that can be as intelligent as children, there are still no animal species that can talk on the same level as humans. Even the children who had never been exposed to society can’t talk. Eren so couldn’t have been a result of forged cells in a test tube, but a child who had reached at least his eighth birthday, to know how to talk properly, before all the experimenting began.” another mark with number eight was added to the timeline “That’s when poor Eren’s humanity ended.”

“But he only talked briefly this morning after at least three weeks of nothing but wailing, meowing and purring. How could’ve he suddenly reverted from a fucking kitten to a child?” Levi hardly believed her theory.

“Well… that’s something I’m yet to figure out.” Hanji scratched her head, glancing at her wristwatch “Oh shit, I promised Moblit to be early at work today. Well, take care and write down everything that happens once I’m gone.”

 

And just like that, she was gone and somehow managing to not forget anything. Having nothing better to do, Levi washed the dishes from the breakfast and planned the rest of the day. By that time Eren would usually be awake, crawling around his legs and meowing for milk or treats. But he still slept tight, not showing signs of wanting to wake up anytime soon.

 

Even though Eren could, as a part-cat, sleep for long hours, he would wake up whenever he was hungry or wanted something. Another hour passed with Levi ironing the clothes and cat-boy still sleeping in the same spot. One more hour came by and the situation didn’t change.

After three hours, when the majority of the house got the dose of throughout cleaning, black haired started reading some thriller novel and Eren was pretty much the same as in the morning, however, a quiet sound slightly changed the atmosphere of everything.

 

Stomach rumbling.

 

And not from Levi.

 

After all, the man had made himself quite a breakfast that morning, consisting of omelets filled with loads of cheese, ham, and pieces of sausage, and as for now, he wasn’t hungry enough for lunch. That could only mean…

 

“Eren?” Levi called his name in the gentlest tone he could, trying his best not to scare the kid.

 

The bundle under the blanket flinched slightly but remained hidden from man’s eyes. Slowly and quietly man stepped closer to the basket, wondering if Eren was sleeping in the first place. Once he uncovered the shielding blanket, he was met with wide green eyes, still a bit bloodshed from all that crying hours ago.

 

“Go away!” Eren shouted as he covered his face with paws as hoping they would hide him from the man.

“Brat, you need to eat or Shitty Glasses will kill me for not feeding you properly.” Levi attempted to get him out of the basket, only to be scratched in return.

“I don’t care, just leave me alone!” cat-boy wouldn’t cooperate, curling into a ball as trying to look smaller.   

 

The man sighed since he didn’t expect for Eren to push him away, not after those long weeks when he would constantly follow him around. The lovely kitten was no longer present, only a child with slightly rebellious personality.

 

“Eren listen!” Levi used a bit different tone, making the kid nervous though looking as he was actually ready to hear what man had to say “I don’t know why you want me to leave you alone, trust me if it were only me, I would, but I promised someone to take care of you and that I will. I have clearly no idea what has happened to you or why you act as you don’t know me, but for now, I know that you’re starving and not eating will definitely make whatever problems you have worse.”

 

Cat-boy didn’t respond immediately to Levi’s words, although it seemed as he was in a deep thought, considering them. Knowing that boy needed a bit of time for himself, black haired headed back to the kitchen, reheating few bottles of milk that had been waiting for Eren since the early morning. By now he was supposed to have two if not three bottles due to needing lots of nutrition in form of milk. Levi was about to put some vitamin and protein powder into the bottles when a loud thud was heard from the living room.

 

In a matter of seconds, he was there, finding Eren sprawled across the carpet quietly whining. Gently, he seated the cat boy on the couch as a kid wouldn’t stop staring at his own legs.

 

“I-I… c-can’t even…w-walk?” Eren’s eyes were again filled with tears. Levi hardly watched as it looked like cat-boy didn’t have any idea what was going on, not to mention the memories of the last three weeks were likely to just have faded away. Hanji had tried numerous times to make him walk, all to no avail as he had been only able to crawl on all fours and each time Eren had been fully aware of his disability.

 

As he didn’t want to reply to Eren’s question will cruel “no”, Levi simply took him into his arms like many times before whenever kid had needed some comfort and gently stroked a particular spot behind ears of a cat-boy. Touch startled kid a bit, but strangely it still had the same effect of calming him down. The familiar comforting feeling eventually dried his tears as Levi retrieved a prepared baby bottle and sat on the couch with him.

 

“Here, your missed breakfast, snack, and lunch.” man held the bottle close to Eren’s lips.

“I-I’m ten… n-not a baby…” cat-boy observed the baby bottle decorated with teddy bears.

“I know brat, but your stomach can’t handle anything else but milk for the time being.” just like Hanji had shown him, he squeezed the bottle a bit, for a few drops to enter kid’s mouth.

 

Even though Eren was still annoyed by the fact that he was treated like a baby, he slowly gulped down the warm liquid. He was after all really hungry and much-awaited food, even if it was just milk it was alright for his stomach. It had a bit sweet aftertaste due to vitamins, so it wasn’t all that bad as he expected. Finishing the first bottle and he was ready for another one, though this time he held his paws up.

 

“Can I hold it myself?” Eren asked, this time with zero stuttering.

“I don’t know, it might slip through your hairy paws,” Levi replied.

“… can I at least try?” he showed off the clingy pads on the paws.

“Won’t hurt if you do.” man let him hold the bottle and just in case it would slip kept hands near it.

 

Fur on his paws trickily made bottle slip no matter how many times cat-boy would fix the hold, each time able to make only a few sips. But still, he was stubborn enough to drink enough to finish the dose of milk with Levi patiently fixing it. Once it was empty, the last one came in line.

The amount of milk would probably be a way too much for an average person but considering it was Eren’s only source of food it was okay. Cat-boy eventually gulped everything down, gasping from drinking a little too fast when finishing last few sips.

 

“Feeling any better now?” Levi asked as Eren nuzzled against man’s neck like a kitten making itself comfortable.

“A bit… thank you, mister.” kid felt sleepy due to the big meal he wasn’t used to “It would be better with cookies though…”

“Cookies would make you throw up in a matter of minutes, unfortunately. Believe me, Shitty-Glasses tried to feed you those numerous times.” man sighed, putting the baby bottle away.

“Who is this Shitty-Glasses you keep mentioning? And who are you mister?” Eren pointed his eyes directly at the black haired and for a second it appeared as he would revert back to how he was in the morning, his green eyes growing wider as panic filled them.

 

Not wanting to see him cry like before, Levi quickly thought of how to explain things to him in order to find out just how much kid remembered without causing him to revert back into the ball of misery. It was certain that Eren was well aware of his actual age and was civilized enough to know what cookies are (Levi hadn’t known that before meeting Hanji), so if he would just ask him straight after asking his questions it shouldn’t hurt.

 

Although it could be harmful in case he would ask him too much. Black haired slightly shivered when he remembered the day he had been in similar situation.

 

He had been sitting at the dining table, across which was a muscular built and blond haired friend of Hanji, Erwin, who had also happened to be a chief of the police department.

It had been only a little over half a year since he had been staying at Hanji’s place, still feeling uncomfortable near strangers, but Hanji insisted on getting himself an ID so he could adapt to his new life better. For that to be possible, Erwin had had to ask him several questions to see just how much Levi could have told him about himself before doing any other research. It had started rather alright considering he barely trusted Hanji let alone police officer. Erwin had asked him pure basics such as the name, age, where he was from and similar things. Black haired had managed to utter out that he had no idea about his long forgotten last name if he had even had had one, that he was around mid-twenties if not older and loosely had described where he would usually hang around.

 

Any other information had been a mystery to Levi, even now when several years passed. He could’ve only tell of how he had managed to find shelter when the weather had been nasty, how he had learned to read using newspapers and speller dropped by some kid and how he had been constantly moving in order to survive the streets.

 

Breaking moment had happened when Erwin had attempted to find out more about Levi’s origins which had made a black haired nervous from the start. Former homeless man had had little to no idea who his parents were or even just when he ended up on streets. When digging through his long shoved memories, his hands wouldn’t stop shaking as well as breathing growing rapid the more he sunk into them. He had remembered Hanji noticing him getting uncomfortable as she had stopped Erwin a bit with a seemingly pointless question so black haired could have a little break.

 

But even though break had calmed him down, interrogation sooner or later continued. Levi remembered he had been originally from Sina, a city much bigger than Trost – city where Hanji was currently working, elaborately the poorer part where the majority of slums were. As he had gone on describing the streets overshadowed by the tall buildings his voice would increasingly shake until he had relived the memory he had been trying to forget for so long.

 

Empty beer bottles being thrown at him, hoarse yelling of a drunken man and the bloodied body of a woman lying on the floor had filled his vision. At that exact moment, Levi could have only screamed, covering his ears as he had been a small child all over again, not capable of protecting anyone, let alone himself. He had run through the dark streets never to return there again as the voice of the killer faded the further he ran away from the darkest darkness towards the little light that underground had.

 

Erwin had immediately noticed the widened eyes and unresponsive young man in front of him, firstly calmly asking if he was alright even though it seemed impossible he would get an answer. Levi had screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping it would make the flashbacks stop, all to no avail. In the end, the painful memories had made him faint right then and there with the inability to speak for the rest of the week. It had taken quite a toll on him and it was only thanks to the extremely patient Hanji that he was able to let go of his past slowly and gradually throughout the months of the new start.

 

 

 

“Mister?” voice called again, bringing Levi back in the thought of why he was remembering those things.

“It’s Levi, brat.” black haired replied in a comforting tone.

“Levi?” Eren blinked in confusion.

“My name, you’ve asked for my name. It’s Levi.” he said at which cat-boy’s eyes got filled with a tiny bit of understanding “And Shitty- Glasses is my roommate. Her name is actually Hanji and without her, you would be wondering the streets as a stray kitty.”

“Shi… I mean Hanji is like you my guardian then?” Eren pieced together the information.

“You could say that. She found you in a back alley near the building where she works and despite your state decided to take you in.” Levi slightly shivered when he remembered the mess of that day.

“I was found…” kid stared on the floor as his tail fidgeted nervously “Who am I?”

“I wish I would know… for now, that’s the question I cannot fully answer.” Eren’s ears dropped down, all hopes of getting the much-needed explanations gone “But I can tell you what Hanji found out about you so far.”

 

Cat-boy’s eyes sparkled a bit as he got to listen black haired as he told him about the weeks when the house got an extra guest living in it. The whole time Eren only listened, occasionally cringing at the thought of himself acting like a cat and sometimes asking about things he didn’t know. The quite amount of time has passed before Levi was able to wrap up all the info he knew about the cat-boy and enlightened the said kid of the past weeks.

 

“Hanji bought all those things for me?” Eren’s eyes widened at the sight of numerous stuffed animals gathered both around and in his basket, except for the plush tiger that he was currently cradling in his paws.

“Yeah, she wanted you to feel comfortable,” Levi replied while stroking kid’s hair.

“They feel so nice.” cat-boy literally threw himself on the pile of toys grinning at the softness “I don’t think I ever had as many toys as this.”

“You didn’t?” black haired sensed some memory triggers, slowly attempting to try to know more about Eren’s past “Your parents didn’t give you that many toys?”

“I don’t remember them that well. I know dad was around from time to time, but I don’t know if mom was there as well.” brunet stopped nuzzling against the stuffed animals “I only remember dad would take me to this place where there were other kids so I could play with them. There were toys there too, but I wasn’t allowed to take them home.”

“I see.” Levi discreetly noted down everything that cat-boy said. It was indeed a progress from _Who am I?_ and man was determined to find out more.

 

“Could you tell me more about your dad? Like how he looked like or what he worked as?” black haired kept the tone of voice in the same calm manner, even though deep down he hardly held down the burning curiosity, threatening to explode.

“He didn’t look like me from what other kids told me and I don’t know what kind of work he was doing. Dad left early and came back very late, that’s all that I know.” Eren hugged the tiger plush as to cease his growing discomfort.

“What about that place where those kids were? Do you remember how it looked like?” Levi asked as he energetically wrote in the spiral notebook meant for grocery shopping lists.

“It was really clean… and very white. Everything was so white.” cat-boy said as he just remembered some unclear déjà vu “And other kids… I don’t know. They were just there all the time.”

“Do you remember how they looked like?” Levi had a bad feeling of where those kids were right now.

“No… sorry. My head gets all fuzzy when I try to remember. Everything gets so blurry.” Eren raised his paw to touch forehead as his head was hurting.

“It’s alright, we will figure out where you came from some other time when your head won’t hurt so much.” man sensed the growing anxiety and concluded to rather stop than risk a panic attack that could probably make kid speechless for the rest of the week.

 

Picking up the cat-boy who wouldn’t let go of the tiger plush, black haired took him back to the couch as the little brunet seemed as he was ready for a nap. When he laid him on the spot right next to the one where he would usually sat, Eren was already quietly purring, ears down and tail wrapped around his little form. Seeing him so relaxed and no other chores to do for a while, Levi thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea if he had a short nap as well since Hanji wouldn’t be getting home for at least several hours and if she would need him or something, she’d probably give him a call beforehand.

 

Covering himself with one of the neatly folded blankets at the end of the couch, black haired set himself on the couch in the way in which Eren was covered too, cat-boy sleepily smiling when subconsciously feeling the warmth. Gazing upon the kid one more time before going for that nap, Levi thought of how nothing more could go wrong. 

 

 

….

 

Oh, how cliché wrong he was.

 

….

 

 

After what felt like a night full of sleep, but in reality only a couple of hours, Eren woke up with meowing yawn, mouth opened so wide that all of his cat fangs were visible. Nap was indeed helpful of clearing his head of the intruding memories that he in one way wanted to see and yet he was unsure if he could handle them. Whenever he would try to remember more it was like a trigger in his mind, sizzling like electroshock directly into his mind.

 

Shaking his head to get rid of the unpleasant feeling, cat-boy was a bit surprised when he saw Levi next to him, one arm protectively around his form. Despite the lack of emotion on man’s face, black haired had surprisingly quite a calming expression while sleeping. Eren was glad he had someone with him as he would feel extremely anxious if he was all alone left to his own devices with no idea of who he was. Apparently, there was one more person living in that house, though she was currently working, providing money for the two strays living under her roof. Strangely it again reminded him of his father as she, like him, would work long hours and had, at least according to Levi, the kind of job he was unable to describe what exactly it was about.

 

Well job or no job, Eren right now only cared about the very same problem that woke him up. Quietly rumbling, his stomach was calling for the next meal which would again probably be milk. Knowing better to wake up Levi and ask him to give him food rather than trying the impossible of getting it himself, cat-boy was about to nudge the sleeping man when half-closed doors peaked his interest.

 

Levi had given him a short tour of the Hanji’s small house (she called it apartment to avoid referring of where exactly she lived since the only actual houses were in one single area) and that room was the only one that black haired didn’t show. Apart from the bathroom, hallway, laundry room, hallway, Levi’s bedroom and space serving both as kitchen, dining room and living room the only parts of the house Eren didn’t see were what was below (there were just storage, pantry, and garage), what was outside (driveway, yard and forest) and what was in that room.

 

Knowing he hadn’t seen Hanji’s room during the tour and concluded it might’ve been hers although he wondered why Levi hadn’t shown it to him. The only brief mention of it was that despite all the cleaning, room was always left to the mercy of the unorganized woman, sometimes being even dangerous to walk in without the injury. But from what man had told him Hanji sounded as very sweet and nice person who he wanted to meet, and taking a look in her room might tell more about her. The warning was in Eren’s mind a bit over exaggerated since Levi seemed to treat him as a toddler. For goodness sakes, he was ten and knew more than enough about what was dangerous in the house.

 

By now he got more used to crawling around on all fours, despite the shock he experienced the very first time when his legs refused to support his already light weight. It was as his calves had no muscles at all and knees unable to straighten up no matter how much he tried. Crawling, for now, seemed as the best option of movement, especially with paws that big. His tail would only wag around with every step not being that useful in the sense of the balance.

 

Carefully he entered what he assumed to be Hanji’s room and Levi surely hadn’t been kidding when he said it was always a mess. When entering, he already had to avoid several thick books on the ground, discarded pieces of clothing and objects he had no idea of what they were. Reaching the middle of the room cat-boy noticed bookcases taking over all four walls except for the one with a desk and window, all of them filled with stacks of paper, folders, and unknown equipment.

 

Just when he was about to observe the objects on the lower shelf, he bumped into a box, its contents scattering all over the room. Worried about Levi being mad at him for making even a bigger mess than it already was, Eren began picking stuff fast before the man could notice. Only when he picked the last object was he aware what actually the contents of the box were.

 

 

Small bottles of unknown liquids, scalpels, tweezers, protective goggles…

 

 

… needles and syringes.

 

 

_“Are you sure this mixture won’t kill him?”_

_“Someone sedate the little bastard!”_

_“What did you do to me?!”_

_“I’m getting out of here!”_

 

_“No! I was the one who came up with a plan! Don’t take him!”_

 

 

At once Eren’s head was filled with voices, faces, and images he was unable to recognize. They were rushing in and out, making him trash and turn on the floor as he growled in pained meows. It hurt! Hurt so much without stopping no matter how hard he begged it to stop. He covered his ears and closed his eyes, hoping the voices and pictures would disappear, but they only became worse.

 

He tried to crawl back to Levi, to make memories disappear with his calming cuddles.

But then it hit him.

 

What if Levi lied to him? What if that Hanji person was the one who did this to him?

 

The tools she had in her room were similar to the ones from his flashbacks. He could literally still felt needles poking into his body, scalpels cutting him up open and weird liquids forced down his throat. This couldn’t have been happening, it simply couldn’t!

 

He had to run, get away from there as fast as possible!

 

But where? And how?

 

He hastily looked around the room, eyes landing on the window that was ajar right next to the desk and chair low enough for him to climb. Trying hard to make the memories stop for him to be able to get to the window he didn’t even look when he jumped through it. Cat-boy was so puzzled by the still not ending flashbacks that he forgot about all the feeling when painfully landing on the bushes below the window.

 

Not bothering with one of the legs bent in an awkward angle, Eren continued to crawl towards the woods, not even glancing back to the house where he did if only for some hours felt like back home.

 

He couldn’t risk it; the memories were far too painful for him to stick anywhere close to that place.

 

The sense of warmth felt nice, but if it was fake it was terrifying.

 

 

….

 

 

Levi woke by his cell phone vibrating on the coffee table. Eyes still all glued together, he reached for it, noticing it was a text from Hanji.

 

Shitty Glasses: How are you doing Midget? Is Eren alright? Did you manage to find out anything new about him? Did you feed him properly? (+dozen more questions regarding Eren’s wellbeing)

 

Feel free to have dinner without me I’ll be meeting up with someone so I’ll be late again. Pet Eren for me!

 

Dinner already? He hadn’t even had lunch yet so why… shit! Black haired quickly checked the time on his smartphone, praying it was just a bad feeling.

 

Nope, it was freaking four in afternoon - nearly three hours had passed from what was supposed to be Eren’s half of an hour catnap. The kid again missed on his meals of milk, probably messing up with the routine.

Speaking of which… where was Eren? Spot, where brat was supposed to be, was empty and what was even worse, it was completely cold, meaning it has been a while since cat-boy was lying there. Doing his best not to panic, Levi went to check the basket and places where Eren might’ve been, calling out his name. He was about to check the hallway when he saw doors to Hanji’s room wide opened, realization kicking him in instant.

 

“Shit, shit, shit!” Levi cursed as he remembered just how fidgeting was Eren about anything remotely similar to the labs, namely the equipment Hanji had in her room. Even though that was when cat-boy was still acting like a newborn kitten, the objects could act as a trigger and bring back the memories he wasn’t capable of handling if the intruding questions were already enough to make his head hurt.

 

Rushing in there at once he nearly slipped on brunette’s shirt on the floor and with horror, he realized that Eren was indeed curious enough to observe the room. Box with discarded scientific objects was reason enough for the terrified cat-boy to take flight from here.

 

But where? The doors were locked and even if they weren’t, the kid wasn’t capable of standing up in order to reach the doorknob. Other than that there were no other escapes out of the house….

 

….unless if he used the window in Hanji’s room. After brunette had accidently mixed two wrong chemicals together yesterday, her room had smelled like rotten eggs at which Levi had immediately opened her window before the horrible smell could spread throughout the house. He had left it open since then in hopes it would ventilate the room of the horrible smell.

 

Without the second thought black haired put the shoes on and while racing towards the woods where Eren had most likely gone, put a jacket on. He soon found the tracks starting from the bushes underneath the window that had cushioned kid’s fall and in a form of pushed down grass, he could figure out the direction in which cat-boy went. Considering he was more of less crawling, he couldn’t have gone far, but even with such slow speed, he could’ve had gotten quite a distance in a couple of hours.

 

Thinking about all other dangers, Eren getting lost was the least of his problems. Air was still cold, forest grounds hid sharp rocks and some paths led to the quite high cliffs. Not to mention the kid was probably scared to death if just the mere sight of the lab equipment had made him run away in panic. Pushing the worst case scenarios out of his head, Levi continued to look for any fresh trails that were harder to find the deeper he went.

 

He had learned to track during his street days, a skill that had rescued his life numerous times. If he had followed the stray dogs or cats he would sometimes found shelter or still edible food plus animals’ sense of smell could tell what was spoiled or poisoned. Although that wasn’t a street but an endless forest, black haired could still keep the sense of direction since Hanji would encourage him to take walks whenever she had days off to enjoy “the wonders of mother nature” and therefore he was able to memorize all familiar paths.

 

The man continued to run in the direction of small signs that proved someone had passed through until he saw a small form crawling as fast as possible.

“Eren!” Levi called out of relief as he was glad that kid was seemingly beside being dirty unhurt.

 

Cat-boy jumped out of surprise, crawling away faster than before as the look of pure horror took over his face. While backing off, he was visibly limping, one of his legs in a rather bad state.

 

“Eren wait! It’s dangerous in here, let’s go back home.” man attempted to get brunet back without force.

“Stay away!” kid tried to sound tough, only for tears of fear starting to pour out of his emerald eyes.

“We gotta go back, it will be dark soon. You’ll be safe…” Levi continued to slowly approach scared cat-boy whose tail bristled.

“You’re lying!” Eren shouted as the man was simply confused about what exactly kid was going on about “You’re one of them, you did this to me! You’re only going to hurt me!”

“No, I won’t.” Levi chose to ignore the accusations as he avoided Eren’s claws when trying to comfortably pet him “I only wish to help you.”

“With that sharp stuff?!” kid let out a growl when managing to claw Levi’s left arm through two whole layers of clothing. His strength truly wasn’t something to joke about.

 

“I’m not stupid enough to believe your lies! You’re all liars!” cat-boy shouted way louder than before though to black haired it sounded differently, as the brunet had used the same sentence once before.

“Eren, please! Just listen to…” black haired got clawed deeper before he could finish, blood dripping out of his left hand.

“No!” Eren hissed, his fangs showing as to prove claws weren’t his only weapon.

“Hanji isn’t the one who did this to you! She is a scientist, but she also fights for animal rights!” new information did little to stir cat-boy out of the threatening pose.

“I don’t believe you!” Eren growled as he continued swaying paws at Levi whenever he tried to touch him “You’re just faking it for me to trust you!”

“Eren…” man for a moment didn’t see the scared kid, but himself being approached by another man.

 

_“You’re just playing a nice cop to gain my trust!” shortly after moving in with Hanji, Levi had shouted._

_“Levi, he’s just trying to help you. If you can just tell us the name of that drug dealer…” woman gently patted his shoulder only for the_ man _to push it away._

_“Then what? You will put him in jail, but once he gets out and finds out I ratted him out he’ll constantly be after me! I’m not stupid to fall for your fucking mind games!” Levi shouted, hardly keeping himself from storming out of the interrogation room._

_“I promise you, he will never found out about you. He will serve a long sentence if you only give us the name. If you don’t, he’ll continue to roam the streets and sell the drugs to unfortunate youths such as yourself.” officer Erwin Smith stated in calm, professional manner “We only wish to protect you, along with others who may end up as his victims.”_

That’s right, he used to be just like Eren, fearing and untrusting when he had found out that Hanji had been in close relation with a police officer. To him police was an enemy, as he had been randomly chased by it number of times, just for looking suspicious. Since then he had grown to think throughout and clearly before assuming anything too fast and that had helped him to unnoticeably analyze the situation in order to see if it was okay to trust someone or not rationally.

So, what to do now?

 

Eren was obviously scared of him and was only trying to protect himself. Taking him back by force was out of the question as it would only further traumatize him and make him want to run away whenever he would get a chance. He could call Hanji since she was capable of taming even the most aggressive dogs that she would bring out of the streets, but he doubted that the mere presence of the person that cat-boy considered a current enemy would make anything remotely better if not worse.

 

Then he had remembered about the time when Hanji took him to the animal shelter. At first, he had been jumpy about it since he despised any kind of animals due to nasty experiences on the streets. But seeing her tending to the wounded animals changed his mind over the time. She truly knew how to connect with those creatures, especially one time when one of the volunteers had struggled to bandage a stray cat. Despite the scratches Hanji had continued to talk in a gentle tone, patiently waiting for a cat to gradually calm down and even after it stopped attacking, the brunette would spend a great amount of time showing the poor stray that she meant no harm.

 

Slowly Levi squatted down to be entirely on Eren’s level of sight, avoiding the eye contact and rather focused on kid’s injured leg. Even though cat-boy hissed and demanded to be left alone, black haired did his best to do what Hanji had done that day.

 

“Your leg doesn’t look good… did you hurt it when you left through the window.” off-topic questions and concerns of other’s wellbeing were Erwin’s techniques when gaining someone’s trust.

“Stay away!” Eren wasn’t that easily convinced though he yelped and observed his injury when backing off.

“I once got hurt like that too, but Hanji took care of me until I healed up. Let’s go back so we can take a look at it.” Levi knew he was getting there a bit too fast, though he had to hurry before it was too dark for him to find the way back “I’m like you Eren.”

“How?” cat-boy hissed with disbelief “You adults are all the same!”

“No… I was found on the streets just like you were and Hanji took me in to take care of me.” Levi then realized that he hadn’t told Eren about his story yet “I can assure you that she only means well and what I’ve told you so far it’s the truth. What you’ve found in her room was in no way ever used on you, heck I have no idea if she ever used those things at all. That shit used to belong to her mother so I doubt it’s even functional.”

 

New information struck kid a bit as he stopped glaring daggers at man though he didn’t lower his ground. Levi’s gestures were slow and becoming less threatening the more he talked as he gradually approached the frightened cat-boy closer and closer until he was right next to him.

 

Suddenly Eren felt those big arms around him and his first instinct was to get them off himself. Instead of clawing, he bit into the arm rather deep, drawing blood instantly. He expected Levi to let him go due to pain and hoping he would leave him be due to his aggressive nature.

 

But Levi didn’t let go.

 

Cat-boy continued to gnaw into Levi’s already bloodied arm, hoping the man would get the memo, but no matter how painful it was, arms wouldn’t release him. The even bigger surprise came when black haired used the other arm to stroke that one spot behind Eren’s ears while whispering quietly.

 

“It’s alright Eren, it’s alright.”

 

Brunet didn’t want to be tricked, but the more time he spent biting, more tears poured out of his eyes. Why? That man was lying to him and touched him without permission. Why did it feel wrong to attack him in self-defense? As the tears fell down, mixing with Levi’s blood, Eren felt the gentle caressing on his head, raising it for the first time to meet other’s grayish blue eyes.

 

Levi’s eyes were half-cringing from the pain he was enduring, but also tried to look as he was alright. Eren was at that point truly puzzled as he didn’t know if the man was that stupid for going through that much pain or….was he actually telling the truth?

 

No… it was a trick! The kind of trick those people used just for giving him the next weird injection. Levi was probably hiding one behind his back to stab him when he would’ve least expect it.

 

But why he didn’t do it already?

 

Instead of petting his head he could easily subdue him with the other arm that wasn’t holding him.

 

Why just why?

 

“I’m so sorry… Eren. I should’ve… kept a better… eye on you.” black haired barely uttered out since he was slowly going above his limit of pain “It’s my fault… you’re remembering things.”

 

At that point, cat-boy no longer could attack him as the tears completely covered his eyes. The guilt was eating him hard while he slowly calmed down, face burrowing into Levi’s shirt as means to escape both the memories and the moment he was caught in. To the hell with everything! He couldn’t run away anymore. All he wanted was to just erase the storm inside of his head and return back to the pile of stuffed animals and…

 

And…

 

Be back in Levi’s lap.

 

Cat-boy reached a breaking point when tears got accompanied by sobs and shivers. Levi’s arm that had been released soon after the confessing apology was covered by blood, though kid attempted to lick it off despite the emotional struggle that he was going through.

 

“Brat, it’s… okay. You don’t need… to be scared.” Levi felt a bit dizzy due to blood loss.

“I… I…” Eren sniffed “I… I… don’t know why I did it…”

“You were scared and… trusted your instinct to save you. You did nothing wrong by assuming that I was dangerous.” man wiped away kid’s tears with the unbloodied part of the sleeve “If anything I’ve should’ve been proud of you for sensing danger and not believing everything you’re told.”

“I’m sorry!” brunet let out a meowing apology “I hurt you because I was stupid!”

“Eren, you were by no means stupid. No one deserves to go through… whatever it was that you went through, so it was only natural that you reacted in a way you did.” Levi slowly stood up, not letting go of cat-boy hiding in the shelter of his arms “And don’t worry, I’ve been through a lot worse than these kitty scratches and bites. You should worry more about your leg and the fact that you’ve missed another meal.”

 

Like kid’s stomach heard him, it growled from hunger even more than hours ago when it had woken him up. Eren blushed from embarrassment as he simply threw his paws around Levi’s neck, clinging to him like a little kitty he was. The man let out a sigh of relief when cat-boy began to purr in the relaxed tone as he usually did whenever he was done eating or after the exhausting game.

 

This surely was close. One wrong move and he would be forced to just drag the poor kid back to the house like some wild animal. If that had happened, Eren’s fears would’ve only been confirmed, cause him to develop his cat instincts and revert back to the animal he was when Hanji had found him.

 

Well, that was over for now at least. The troubling game of hiding and seek (or more like run and chase) was done without major consequences if you’d put away brunet’s injury and defense wounds on man’s arms, so getting back to the house sounded like the heaven of the day. Eren was getting calmer in his arms, looking forward to that bottle of milk and warm basket surrounded by toys. Those cold people from his memories would never have given him any of that, he was sure of it. Levi was nice, no matter how stern look he wore on his face or how harsh his voice sounded. No, deep down black haired was a guardian angel that brunet had longed to have for so long. Levi who caringly fed him, petted him, made sure he was warm enough under the blanket and endured his outburst definitely wasn’t the one who was associated with the ones who had turned him into the abomination he was now.

 

With those thoughts, Eren tightened the embrace around Levi as his last few drops of tears dried off.

 

However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that man’s tempo became faster, nearly turning into a jog instead of walking. Sure, it was getting dark, but not so fast that you’d need to run as it were chasing you.

 

“Levi?” cat-boy’s mouth was quickly covered.

“Shhh… stay quiet.” Levi whispered in such a low voice that only Eren’s sensitive ears could hear him.

 

Black haired continued to jog quietly, eyes only pointed in the direction of the house. Just fifteen more minutes of walking or even ten if he would continue with the same steady jog and they will be back home. By now cat-boy figured out what was going on.

 

 

They weren’t alone.

 

 

Since Hanji’s house was located on the very outskirts of the Trost where only forest area and pure nature were spread for miles, separated only by mountains it had indeed some local wildlife. The majority of them were harmless such as the rodents, birds and herbivorous deer. Bigger predators like bears and wolves preferred more isolated areas that didn’t smell of humans, so what was the problem then?

 

Humans were the problem. Not humans directly, but the nasty habit that caused those forest to be dangerous. For years, even before Hanji had moved in, people would leave unwanted pets in here. Those were most of the time bigger breeds of the dogs that demanded a lot of attention or the animals that were simply too aggressive to be kept as pets. Soon even some of the animal shelters had joined the practice, releasing any unwanted cross-breeds in the forest. That way none of them could ever be charged with animal abuse.

 

Over the years those dogs would either die or become completely feral to survive the hard battle for survival. Unlike the stray dogs from the streets, those dogs were no longer tamable and would attack anything they have seen as food. They were also much tougher and faster which Levi experienced himself to be sure of. He once had barely outrun a couple of them when he went for a walk too far much too late in the day.

 

Although he was a bit surprised as to why they would appear before the dark and so close to the house. They would usually be wondering deeper in the woods as people would drop them as far away as possible, sometimes even tying them to the trees so people’s scent would be lost by the time they would manage to chew through the ropes. Was it possible that Eren had to do something with it? Feral dogs attacked anything or anyone insights, but to actually following it as prey? There was something going on and Levi only fastened up his pace, clenching cat-boy closer to the chest to protect him.

 

But then it happened.

 

What once used to be a German shepherd attacked him completely unprepared from the sidelines. Its eyes were blank with snout wide open and ready to put its fangs to use. Without a warning it threw itself on him, going straight for the neck. Eren could only curl himself into a tight ball, hiding behind the weak shelter of Levi’s arms. As not enough happened in a single day, a crazy wild dog had to attack them.

 

But surprisingly Levi knew how to react in time. Knowing how to deal with aggressive dogs on the streets and taming the ones that Hanji had taken under the roof, he managed to dodge the fangs in time and give a mutt a decent punch into the snout. This would usually put them into a dizzy state, enough to buy him time to escape.

 

Fixing the hold on the terrified Eren, he took off towards the way back at once, not daring to look back. He really needed to get one of those whistles that produce the sound in such frequency that dogs run away, it would surely get handy right then. Speaking of which, were any other feral dogs anywhere near him? If it were only him, he’d probably managed to outrun them, but with Eren in his arms, it would be tricky. Not only they seemed as they were targeting the cat-boy for an unknown reason; Levi wouldn’t be capable of protecting both Eren and fight them off at once.

 

To make the things worse, another feral dog appeared out of nowhere, viciously biting into man’s leg. Levi screamed out of pain, accidently letting go of Eren. At that moment kid could only watch as a dog with features of a Rottweiler continued to sink its teeth into Levi’s leg while its eyes were pointed straight into the cat-boy. It was like black haired was an obstacle to be removed before the dog could move on to the real target.

 

At that moment all Eren could see was fear. The one he felt himself, the one on man’s face and the fear of what was more to come. He couldn’t move. Not with the terror crawling underneath his skin. The only shield he had was being mauled by the insane animal and from the looks of it, more of them were coming.

 

He could try crawling away, hoping that the house was near, doors opened and perhaps even that Hanji person there. Levi could buy him time to run away.

 

Run away? Did he really think of abandoning the only person he felt safe with? To be mauled down to death by the savage dogs wasn’t what Levi deserved. No, he won’t abandon anyone. Not anymore.

 

As the man let out another agonizing scream, Eren again felt memories sparkling in his mind though this time they were different. Subconsciously he raised his front left paw and bit into it as hard as possible, feeling his blood burning and anger consuming his mind.

 

_“I won’t abandon anyone as long as I’m breathing!”_

Too busy with trying to get the feral mutt off his leg, Levi didn’t notice how Eren’s eyes turned yellow as he leaped directly into the dog with mouth wide open. His cat fangs were visibly longer and claws extended to the full length as he stuck all of them into the animal. The feral dog yelped from the pain, trying to shake the cat-boy off who would only draw deeper in the flesh. Cat-boy felt nothing as he continued to slash through the dog’s body. Not a single feeling of guilt, not the strain of his little body and not even the excruciating pain when using his legs. Despite supporting the weight that the limbs were unable to, Eren was numb to the pain at the moment, focusing only on the attacks.

 

Levi was too busy with fastening his own belt around his leg that had been severely penetrated by dog’s fangs to see Eren going for the mutt’s neck. Only when cat-boy let out a loud hiss and a thud to the ground was heard did man see just what the hell happened.

 

The dog was on the ground with its eyes empty of life and neck, along with insides, wide opened like a dissected frog. Cat-boy was standing right next to it, covered by the blood all over and eyes glowing in bright yellow tone. From the looks of it, he managed to not only tear off mutt’s main arteries but literally everything inside. There was no doubt that helpless little kitten just killed off a feral dog in cold blood.

If it would be Levi’s first time seeing something as gruesome as this, he would surely throw up everything he had in the stomach, especially since Eren’s empty stare turned into his own direction. Slowly Eren began walking back to the black haired in some sort of a dream state, wobbly legs barely supporting him.

 

Shocked from the whole ordeal, the man froze completely as thinking if that was really happening. At one hand he was thinking of running away that instant, but due to the injured leg, he wasn’t left with much choice. On another hand, cat-boy was simply looking at him, not charging like he did before killing the feral dog. More to it, the few other dogs in the background were fleeing the scene with tails between their legs since they were in fear of losing their lives to the true beast among them.

 

Few more steps closer and Levi was face to face with this seemingly third version of Eren, probably the most dangerous one of them all. Dog’s blood was still trickling down his paws though cat-boy didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

 

“Eren…” was the only response that Levi was capable of at the moment.

 

Cat-boy blinked at the sound of his name, tail nervously wagging when raising his claws at Levi.

 

But at that moment his body seemed to have enough. Collapsing directly into Levi’s lap, Eren was out cold.

 

 

…..

 

 

 

“It sure has been a while since you invited me out for a chat during a lunch break.” Hanji giggled as she took a seat next to the police chief at the cheap looking restaurant.

“I’d hardly call it lunch since it’s nearly a dinnertime.” Erwin took a sip of his drink.

“True to that, though it’s kinda unusual for you to call me over. Usually, it’s me who drags your ass out of your suffocating office.” brunette took off her several bags “So, any specific reason why our roles are reversed?”

 

Hanji had got a call from Erwin soon after she had been done with work, surprised at the question if she was occupied or not. Even though she was concerned about her two favorite strays being alone for too long, she was also eager to know what was so important that Erwin needed to tell her in person. Quickly texting Levi to not bother making dinner for her as well, she had grabbed her bags and jacket as she had headed towards the restaurant where she was supposed to meet up with the police chief.

 

“Yes and no, if you’d call it like that.” Erwin brought out the newspaper “It’s about your missing cat case.”

“Anything new?” Hanji’s eyes were full of tension since she didn’t know what to expect.

“Well, the team is looking through archives concerning the SINA LABS to see if it was really disbanded or not. We’re still in a dark about it, but we found out that the hair from the collar doesn’t match to any of the known domestic species of cats. They’re looking through the exotic species now and should it actually be an exotic wildcat bred, then you’ve found an animal of the illegal pet trade.” blond said while his look remained stern.

“I see… but what does the newspaper got to do with it?” Hanji’s eyes already scanned through the headlines.

“Well it’s just a suspicion for now, but it’s the name that was on the collar - Eren that I wanted to discuss with you.” Erwin clenched his hands together.

“What about it?” woman listened carefully to not let anything slip.

“As you may know, Eren isn’t that typical name over here and myself I only heard it once. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s the name of the cat, but together with SINA LABS it brings out more than mere coincidence.” police chief took another sip of water to clear his throat “You see back when I was still a student at police academy, I used to hang out with this student majoring in science who would already be doing a practical work at SINA LABS at the time, before its mistreatment was discovered of course. He reminds me of you actually, since he was incredibly enthusiastic about both his work and animals. Come to think of it, you even do look like a lot like his younger and female version of him.”

“Thanks, but aside from SINA LABS I’m still not following you.” Hanji still didn’t find a specific headline that she could connect to Eren.

“The thing is, once he graduated and got an actual job at SINA LABS, I’ve heard from him a bit less, but I do remember he had shown me his private lab and had the same habit as you when it came to naming his subjects with rather unusual names. We met up few more times and almost every time he would ask me for my opinion concerning the names of the subjects. But during last few times I’ve seen him, he was particularly asking me if name Eren sounded alright to me, like not in a usual way, but as if I was really sure about it. I thought he was getting himself a pet even though he was busy all the time.”  Erwin reached for the newspaper “That was about 10 years ago, after that, I would only meet him a couple of times per year, mainly to catch up and sometimes if he needed help. But I do remember that he would donate quite a lot of money to this facility.”

“Trost General Orphanage? Why there?” brunette fixed her glasses to further analyze the article.

“I’m not sure, but I do remember that he was developing medicine for some rare disease that one of the kids from that orphanage had and I think he’d also visit it quite often.” Erwin stared at the photo of the charred building.

“What’s your point then?” Hanji tried to guess the connection.

“Well, the same year that orphanage burnt down was also the last time I’ve heard from him. He’s been missing for five years and no clue of what happened to him has been found ever since.” police chief said, digging through his bag to pull out a folder “His name is Dr. Grisha Yeager, a scientist with European origins.”

“So you think that a cat that I had found used to belong to Dr. Yeager, who used to work for SINA LABS and went missing around the same time as the facility he had been financially supporting burnt to the ground?” brunette put together all the information while deep down another theory was spawning.

“It’s a guess for now, but since it’s a part of a cold case, I picked more teams to work on it. As we speak, the selected forensics are going through the old files and re-analyzing the gathered pieces of evidence regarding the case.” blond put the file back into the bag “If it weren’t for your accidental discoveries from before, I’d  be greatly surprised at the clues you keep finding.”

 

Hanji smiled in order to cover her growing fear about what really happened in the mind. For Erwin to remember, find out and connect so much was impressive. No wonder he became police chief. She was about to tell him her theory (leaving Eren being a human-cat hybrid out of it) when her cell phone rang.

 

Excusing herself from Erwin, she was surprised to see it was Levi - one of the rarest people she knew that would use the cellphone for emergencies only.

 

“Midget?” she answered, worried what might’ve been wrong, especially since signal seemed to be lagging.

 _“Shitty Glasses get here as fast as possible!”_ Hanji nearly became deaf on one ear due to Levi being so loud.

“What happened?” her panic increased as she started packing her bags, knowing that Levi never joked.

“ _Long story short, brat ran away, I found him, we got attacked by wild dogs, they went away, we both got hurt and I can’t go back to the house cuz fucking mutts thought my leg was a chewing toy.”_ black haired replied, gasping with every comma in the sentence _“So just get the fuck here as fast as you can, cuz_ brat _doesn’t look so good!”_

“Got it!” Hanji stood up fast, grabbing all of her bags and meeting Erwin’s confused look “Sorry, I have to go back, Levi got into some trouble.”

“Anything I can do?” blond stood up as well, all ready to go if necessary.

 

Hanji gave it a quick thought but concluded it was still a bit early to involve Erwin further in this. True he was investigating the case closely related to Eren’s origins however she didn’t know enough about the cat-boy to defend him in case Erwin would deem him as dangerous. For now, it was the best if he didn’t know, at least until she would gather enough information and facts about the cat-boy.

 

“Sorry, but no, it’s something that only I can do.” Hanji attempted to mask her growing panic.

“Just… don’t do something dangerous. I don’t feel like putting you in the body bag tonight after the whole day shift.” Erwin’s expression showed concern which brunette easily brushed off.

“Ah Erwin, even you can be funny.” she put off another forced smile as she rushed towards the doors of the restaurant, leaving the police chief behind “And don’t worry, I’ll text you once we take care of it.”

 

As soon as she got outside, all the panic quickly took over, causing her to nearly drop the keys when starting the car. From where she was now to back home it would take at least twenty minutes at best before getting there. She surely hoped Levi only sounded desperate for her help and situation wasn’t as serious as she feared. Just to make sure, Hanji turned on the speaker on the cell phone once she entered the main road.

 

 _“Where are you Shitty Glasses?”_ Levi answered after the first ring.

“In the car, driving as fast as I can, but it will still take me a while before I get there. Where are you and how bad are your injuries?” brunette made a sharp turn when heading in the right direction.

 _“I managed to crawl to the end of the forest road where that weirdly shaped rock is. Besides my leg being all chewed up, I’m fine, but the_ brat _seems to be burning up and I think his leg is broken. Just get here fast!”_ Levi replied, letting out gasps as he had just climbed a mountain.

“I’m on it!” Hanji ended the call and unconsciously speeded up even though she might’ve been breaking several driving regulations.

 

She was familiar with an illegal practice that produced the number of feral dogs in the woods she’d lived close by, though she was surprised that they would appear so close. The forest road that Levi mentioned was basically the point where the regular road in the neighborhood ended and the way into the woods started that was still wide enough for her car. End of it was marked by a huge rock and part of it was shaped like a curl, offering a much-needed shelter.

 

It actually reminded her of a time when she had taken Levi for a walk, but they accidently had gotten separated and black haired had gone to the wrong direction when looking for a way back. What had been even worse was that he had unknowingly entered the territory of feral dogs and one of them even had chased him. Hours later with the help of Erwin she had managed to find him right by that rock, cradling a swollen ankle and him covered by numerous bites. It had taken him a while before he had gotten truly used to the new environment, but in the end, he had learned how to handle it as well. He had been learning how to survive from the early age after all.

 

That was the only thought that kept her sane from worrying over him. Although the true fear was for the cat-boy since he was so small and weak, becoming an easy prey for the wild dogs. She could only pray that both of the strays would stay safe until she would arrive. True the rock could keep them hidden, but for how long? From what she knew, the predators were capable of going to the great lengths to catch the pray if they were hungry enough.

 

Shaking her head from the disturbing thoughts she was much relieved when she entered the familiar neighborhood and immediately speeded towards the forest road. The tires were protesting due to the lack of asphalt when Hanji finally saw the rock and a figure next to it. Just like that time, Levi’s back was leaned on the rock though this time he was cradling something else in his arms.

 

“Midget!” brunette shouted as she grabbed the first aid she had kept in case of emergencies while exiting the car “Are you two okay?!”

“Of course we’re not if I called you! Brat has been burning up for a while and my leg is killing me.” Levi pointed to the cat-boy whom he wrapped up in his jacket to protect him from the wind.

“You’re both covered in blood!” Hanji shrieked from horror once her eyes got used to the continually darkening scenery.

“It’s not Eren’s. It’s from the dog he mauled.” Levi said, only making brunette letting out another shriek.

“He what?!” she hardly kept her mind still.

“Look, just get us back to the house before brat dies from pneumonia and I fucking bleed out!” man would’ve slapped her if he weren’t for Eren in his arms “You won’t make anything better if you just scream!”

Hanji quickly collected herself together as she by the help of the flashlight examined the injuries at once. It was hard to tell due to the all of the dog’s blood over the clothes, though by far Levi’s leg injury seemed to be the worst of them all.

 

Glad by the fact that Levi had actually listened to her when had she told him about the basic first aid since he had stopped the serious bleeding by fastening the belt around the mauled limb, she quickly disinfected it and wrapped a tight bandage around it. She did the same with the bites on his arms and as for the Eren, she could only secure his presumably broken leg before getting them into the still running car.

 

Once both of them were safely on the backseats, Hanji immediately drove back, though she passed the house.

 

“Your leg needs stitches and without proper equipment, I can’t really tell what’s wrong with Eren.” brunette said while gripping the steering wheel rather tightly.

“Where are we going then? I doubt either of us can go to the hospital.” Levi held the cat-boy close for him not be rolled away by the wild car drive.

“I have the keys of Moblit’s veterinary station. He went for a vacation this morning, so it will probably be empty and I can treat the two of you.” Hanji kept her eyes on the road in order not to kill anyone in her way-over-the-permit speed.

“Is it far?” man tried hard to not get dizziness to take over his head.

“Not if I continue to drive this fast.” she said nearly cheerfully as she overtook yet another car.

 

Levi relaxed a bit at the thought that woman knew what she was doing and that they were headed for the well-secluded place. Due to his incomplete ID, black haired couldn’t exactly go to the hospital whenever he had needed medical attention. Since Hanji was certified in many fields, with basic medical and veterinary knowledge among them, she could treat him with no problem and in case it had been something serious, a veterinary station belonging to her friend Moblit had all necessary things for treatment.

 

Not even ten minutes later they were already at the back parking lot meant for the staff of the veterinary station. The good thing about it was that it was well hidden by the fence and it was fairly close to the entrance for the staff. Hanji went to check if everything was clear since she didn’t want anyone to see her with cat-boy hybrid and man in bloody clothes. Once the door was unlocked, she grabbed a hold of Eren wrapped in a blanket with one hand and supported limping Levi with other.

 

She kept all lights except for the one in the hallway off since clinic was supposed to be closed due to staff having a vacation. It was dead silent with all the animal patients moved to other veterinary stations. Still, she kept her eyes opened in case a potential person with a sick or injured pet would appear even though the sign on the front doors told loud and clear that the service was unviable, followed by the addresses of the other clinics where they could go.

 

Eventually, Hanji dragged both of her strays to the examination room where she placed Eren on one of the medical cushioned cages meant for bigger pets, where they would recover after the surgery, and helped Levi get on the examination table that was, fortunately, big enough for him. (Good thing he was that short.) She took the syringe filled with the right amount of the medicine, gently injecting Levi with it and while waiting for the painkiller to work, the brunette turned her attention to Eren.

 

“First things first.” Hanji checked the temperature of the cat-boy, letting out the sigh of relief when seeing the numbers.

“How is the brat?” man asked, making himself comfortable on the table.

“Even though the temperature is quite high, it’s not as dangerous as I feared it would be. Honestly, when I touched him, I thought my hand was going to burn. My guess is that he caught a nasty cold, but just to be safe I’ll test his blood for everything else.” she removed the cap of a needle with her teeth before proceeding to draw the blood out of Eren’s leg since it was the only part not covered by the blood of the killed dog “Speaking of which, why did Eren run away in the first place?”

“Because of your heirloom. Little shit sneaked into your room and got terrified by the sight of the old medical equipment you were so persistent of keeping in your fucking bedroom.” Hanji’s eyes widened at the mention of the objects she kept as good luck charms.

“How did he get so far from the house if he can merely crawl on all fours?” scientist continued to question while removing more samples off the unconscious cat-boy.

“I… was sleeping… and didn’t really keep an eye on him.” Levi’s voice was suddenly engulfed by guilt which was a rare occurrence since his personality carried a lot of pride “I’m sorry for not keeping him safe like I promised.”

 

Hanji silently finished with taking the samples and moved to still guilt-ridden Levi who didn’t know how to respond. Without a word she began removing the bandages around man’s leg so she could stitch it up. But as the brunette was preparing the thread and needle, she pointed to the viciously gnawed leg.

 

“Levi, you protected and carried Eren to safety for the cost of your own leg. You have nothing to feel guilty about, heck we all mess things up sometimes, but you have an incredible talent for cleaning up those messes no matter how terrible they are.” Hanji called Levi by his name instead of his usual nickname which she only used when she was serious.

 

The man was at that point speechless and let scientist stitch his leg up, proceeding to do few more stitches on his arm where a single bite was.

 

“Dog sure got you hard.” she began sewing the smaller bite below his elbow.

“This one is from Eren actually. It took me a while to gain his trust after his freak out.” Levi looked at the sleeping kid “I hope he’s alright.”

“I’ll check him over in more detail once I’m done with your stitches.” Hanji was nearly at the end of the bite with the needle “Though did I hear it right when you said that Eren mauled the dog? With his tiny body and useless legs?”

“Yeah, I hardly believe it myself, but little shit gnawed that dog to death. You should’ve seen the body - it was butchered beyond the recognition.” man tried not to think about that bloody scene “It was like he was entirely different kid… no, more like an animal.”

“Did… his eyes change color?” Hanji asked suddenly.

“They did… to bright yellow. Why?” Levi asked while getting the bloody shirt off.

“Because they were also bright yellow the first time I saw him on the streets. At that time he was also acting more like an aggressive animal than a toddler-cat like last three weeks.” woman handed him a sponge, soap, and towel along with the spare veterinary uniform since his blood stained clothes were only good for combustion. Levi could only nudge with his shoulders as he wasn’t sure what the eye color change meant.

 

While he proceeded with washing at the sink meant for cleaning the bigger animals, Hanji gently striped Eren out of equally dirty clothes and replaced them by the smallest uniform shirt she’d found. Not to meddle with his feverish state, female scientist rather gave him a quick sponge bath to wash the majority of blood away. When scrubbing the blood of his paws, Hanji noticed something she not expecting to see again. Okay, first thing was an accident, the second was a coincidence, but the third one was a pattern leading to the solving puzzle.

 

“What is it Glasses?” black haired mumbled when he saw her staring into Eren’s paw.

“I think I might be able to answer your question.” she sighed as she reached for another bandage.

“What question?” Levi put on the vet coat over the borrowed uniform.

“Of how Eren changed personalities… but I’ll have to run more test first and… oh yeah, I should’ve also check his leg too. Just stay there, until I get back.” Hanji took the cat-boy and headed to the separate room, where more technologically advanced equipment was.

 

In the meanwhile Levi waited on the chair, his injured leg resting on a set of towels to keep it comfortable. Even though the painkillers were working, black haired still felt a bit stiff from the whole ordeal. He wouldn’t expect the day to start with Eren talking to him for the first time and end… with whatever it was to follow. Sighing he decided to do some shut eye since he was so hard on fighting it in the last hour in order to protect both himself and the kid that it felt like a well-deserved reward. Snatching one of the towels from underneath his newly stitched leg, he used it as a temporary pillow to catch those few much-needed zzzs.

 

 

….

 

 

 

He had no idea how much time has passed when he was awoken by Hanji’s soft pat on the shoulder, but judging a number of papers and stocked samples she’d brought along, he suspected she had taken quite a time when running the rest of the tests. Eren was placed in Levi’s lap since Hanji didn’t want to put him back to the cushioned cage and was still sleeping as peacefully as he had done in the morning. Wearing nothing but the oversized vet uniform shirt with rolled up sleeves and a handmade brace on his leg, cat-boy shivered a bit.

 

Black haired certainly hoped that brunette did all necessary examinations so they could go back home already. Not that he didn’t appreciate the highly sterilized environment, but from all the stuff that had happened, he just wanted to get back to his room and straight to the bed. He was way too tired to deal with any other shit that was to come. Unfortunately, Hanji had a different idea.

 

Turning on the board for UV photos observing, the female scientist put on several photos of different parts of Eren’s body. Even though Levi had seen some UV photos before, mostly consisting of animals, he was surprised to see the ones of both animal and human.

 

“As I feared all animal parts weren’t surgically attached to Eren. His body was genetically modified instead.” Hanji pointed to the photo of cat-boy’s back.

“Meaning?” man asked as he was too tired to dig through his poor science knowledge.

“At first I thought that all cat parts consisting of paws, ears, fangs and tail were just switched with his actual body parts. It turned out that whoever made him into a human-cat hybrid, forced his body to go through some sick modification in order to grow those parts itself. Who would done that to an 8-year-old child?!” female scientist was visibly shaking from the rage the more she stared at the photos “Just look at how tail bones and spine are joined together! The pain that poor Eren felt when all those major nerves were joined together must’ve been unimaginable! And don’t let me even start about what they did to his legs!”

“What about them?” Levi was nearly afraid to ask since when it came to animal or in this case child cruelty, Hanji would shift from the bubbly enthusiastic scientist to the mad raging monster.

“They fucking cut his knee ligaments! That’s why his legs can’t carry him because it becomes too painful for him!” through her anger Hanji could still see man wasn’t really getting all of it, so she dragged another a bit different photo in front of him “When I checked the UV of his broken leg up close, I noticed that part between legs in a rather awkward position… but when I examined it further with magnetic resonance… I saw the damage. Knee ligaments connect the bones in the legs together and being purposely cut in such a way… it prevents Eren from putting the weight on them. Without proper recreational surgery… even with it, there is still little to no chance that Eren will be able to walk normally.”

 

Levi let the woman shed those few tears of pity for the little guy sleeping in his lap as she wiped them off and continued with presenting her findings.

 

“From what the brain scans could tell me, as for now, Eren is currently in a typical sleep, but once he wakes up, I can’t really say which personality he will have. I would need to study it for a while, though the feral-like state in which you said he was when he killed the dog was probably triggered.” she scrolled through the papers in the folder.

“Triggered? By what?” man started petting Eren’s favorite spot behind the ears since he seemed as he was about to wake up “And can we get back to the house soon? If few of your old injections caused him to run away, I’m afraid to see what a fucking animal clinic would do to him.”

“Okay, just this one thing and we can go.” Hanji packed all the UV photos, papers, and other researching samples into her bag “The thing is… I think Eren can revert to that wild state only when receiving self-inflicted wounds. The first time I found him he was in feral state and his paw was injured. I thought he got hurt accidentally, but then I saw it was actually a bite mark. The very same one he has right now.”

 

After the close inspection Levi noticed there was indeed a bandage around his paw and from what he remembered, cat-boy hadn’t been bitten a single time while he fought the dog.

 

“So to prevent him from going wild, we just have to make sure he doesn’t chew his hands out?” man began to stand up with Eren in his arms as the brunette was all set to go.

“Pretty much yeah and all other tests I did are kinda puzzling as for now, so I’ll need to look up them close. Otherwise, Eren is pretty much fine, the fever was more or less a side effect of his transformation and is slowly fading. I’m sure he only needs his fluffy basket, Mr. Tiger and a big bottle of milk to get better.” like before brunette took cat-boy with one arm while supporting the black haired, who wasn’t limping as much as when coming to the animal clinic, with other.

 

Levi smiled, but not for long since he heard a thud at the backdoors. Not just a random sound, but a noise of banging the doors would be something that any human being would be afraid to hear.

 

Something or someone was there.

 

Hanji reacted fast, immediately grabbing the bag with research material about Eren, Levi, and cat-boy himself and pushed them all into the big closet she knew was empty. It would usually be used for keeping spare clothes on the hangers as it was easy to get all messy when treating animals, so Levi had enough space to put himself into a position where his injured leg wouldn’t bother him as much and could still hide behind the boxes and hung clothes. He heard the key locking the closet and Hanji heading towards the back door. Levi wondered who could it be, although he was definitely sure it wasn’t some random pet owner who was that desperate to have a pet treated.

 

He could only hope that brunette would know what to do.

 

 

….

 

 

The banging on the doors was getting louder the closer Hanji got to the back doors. She couldn’t see well who it was but from the sound of it and shadows coming from underneath, she could tell it was a group of at least two people. Fixing her lab coat and glasses in order to appear as professionally as possible, she carefully removed the lid that concealed the little window on the eye-level height.

 

“Trost Animal Clinic. How can I help you?” she saw two men in their 30s if not older, staring at her with narrowed eyes.

“Inspection. There has been a report about the facility and we wish to check it out.” the taller of the duo said, holding up a sealed paper “We have a warrant if there are any questions.”

“I’m sorry, but if you haven’t seen the sign we are closed right now. I’m only here for daily check and if you wish to take a look at the facility, you will have to contact an actual owner. His number is written on the sign and if you haven’t called him yet I can do it for you…” Hanji exposed her cell phone already typing the number “… unless you aren’t an inspection.”

“Miss we are…” the other man tried to protest before brunette silenced him.

“You are what? Please, even the unannounced inspection can’t enter the facility with that kind of warrant. You would need a police one to enter immediately and the thing you’re holding can be forged by literally anyone. Not to get me wrong, you can get in with this one, but the owner must be presented during your inspection and since Moblit returns… after a while, you’ll be breaking the law by going in right now.” Hanji slid the lid back and before it was closed entirely said “And you did your inspection badges and ID totally wrong, so you better get the hell out of here before I report the two of you to police and tell them that two fake animal control employees showed off a fake warrant to continually take down the animal clinic.”

 

At the mention of the police, the duo already took off, probably scared shitless due to the menacing grin that brunette produced when saying that last sentence. As soon as they were in the car and well out of Hanji sight, she slid down the wall to the ground.

 

For a second she was afraid it was someone else, looking for a certain little fuzz ball hidden in the locked closet. Fortunately they were only idiots from the nearby so-called animal shelter that had been picking on the animal clinic for years for unknown reason. They surely didn’t know when to quit as even their disguises weren’t getting any better.

 

Checking one last time if they were truly gone, Hanji got back to the examination room in a flash, hoping that her two strays weren’t shaken off by the even too much. Quickly unlocking the closet, she was relieved to see the duo was exactly the same of how she left them.

 

“You alright Midget?” she asked, observing both his leg and the cat-boy who was slipping in and out of consciousness.

“I’m fine, but the brat won’t be when he fully wakes up. Let’s get the fuck away from here already.” despite the curse in the sentence he said an entire thing in a matter of a whisper.

“Le… vi…” Eren mumbled, his ears twitching.

“Shhhh, it’s okay Eren, just go back to sleep. It’s not the time for you to get up yet.” Levi pressed him closer to his chest, his steady heartbeat lulling the cat-boy to the land of dreams “What?”

“Naww you’re so cute when taking care of Eren! And his voice! It sounds just like a lower pitch of his meowing!” Hanji couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Shhh quiet Glasses! Go start the car and take the bag there, I’ll follow.” black haired stood up leaning against the closet for support.

“Are you sure? With your leg and…” Hanji was skeptical about how much could a man take.

“I spent weeks with sprained leg carrying stuff around. I’m sure I can carry brat back to the car and then to house and as long as I hold him he won’t wake up.” Levi said with full determination as he already started limping towards the back door.

“Fine, but you’ll be on the obligatory bed rest for the rest of the week unless you want to pop up all those stitches.” she sighed as she knew she was battling the lost war.

 

With no other words the duo got into the car and in silence drove back to the house. Levi was the whole time on the backseat, making sure Eren was asleep and unaware they were driving. The last thing he needed was cat-boy panicking in the middle of the ride and putting all of them in danger.

 

Luckily that didn’t happen and all of them arrived back safe and sound. Hanji grabbed all the bags from the work along with the one containing all of the newly discovered information about Eren and rushed to the doors to unlock them so Levi would have no trouble entering.

 

But once she reached the doors she realized that black haired was in such a rush when he went after the cat-boy that he forgot to lock them up.

 

And at the doorstep was a man, holding one of Hanji’s workbags.

 

“I didn’t mean to bother you, but you forgot this at the restaurant. I was going to call you beforehand, but you said you were busy and you weren’t picking up, so I just dropped off since I was on the way home anyway.” he waved the messenger bag around.

“Erwin?” was the only response she was capable of at the currently baffled state she was in.

 

“Sorry about not locking the doors Glasses, when brat got away I sort of lost my shit when looking for him,” Levi mumbled, but also became baffled when he saw Erwin there.

 

And Erwin saw them.

 

In fact not just them, but the particular kid in Levi’s arms whose ears and tail were widely exposed.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! 
> 
> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm kinda starting to understand why so many writers like to use it (to tease the readers - I'm evil mwahaha XD).
> 
> As always, kudos, comments, questions, critics, ideas highly appreciated, more interest is shown, more chance for the story to get updated faster (promise it won't take a year!). If you wish to see an update from any other stories of mine, please tell me. I'll try to focus on updating this one for now, but if there's high interest in anything else, I will gladly do my best to update it as well. I might also post fic concerning another fandom I've recently got into (seriously it only took me two freaking days to get fanfic ideas going) soon, but yeah other than that I will try to keep everything organized so I will get more chances to write (besides college, cosplay, sewing, and work). 
> 
> Again I don't know when will I'll update (due to the long and detailed chapters I can't really update every week, so either every two or three weeks - I really need to get myself more organized: '( ), but trust me, your comments and kudos have the power of healing my writer block and give me the motivation to write :D
> 
> Thank you all guys for putting up with me :D *kitty Eren sending hugs to everyone*

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it ;) 
> 
> I'm not sure if I'll continue it or not, pretty much depends on response. More comments and kudos, more chances for an update ;) (it will have multiple chapters, though it doesn't have the final number or ending yet). 
> 
> Questions, critics and whatever you have to say are welcome to, I'll be glad to reply. I like to know what people think about my stories, so I can make them better and better.
> 
> Take care ;)
> 
>  
> 
> PS: If you ever plan to go cosplaying as Eren, I have a 10 things to say about it to prepare you.
> 
> 1) Learn how to put the harness and belts on before convention, not at it (even with instructions it's hard)  
> 2) Be patient and know that you will have to constantly fix them  
> 3) Try to cosplay as SNK character during colder times (in summer be ready to suffer in heat - even as high as 40 degrees Celsius, I did)  
> 4) Learn to use the bathroom in SNK cosplay (without removing the harness)  
> 5) Be ready for surprise hugs by unknown people and other SNK cosplayers  
> 6) Be ready to pose differently than just in SNK salute  
> 7) Have a fellow SNK cosplayer or a friend who will take lots of photos, selfies just don't work all the time  
> 8) Buy SNK related stuff, you might get a discount (I did ;) )  
> 9) Have at least one more SNK cosplayer with you all the time, it's more fun (even if it's always hungry Sasha Blouse XD)  
> 10) If you take photo with Levi cosplayer, be ready for massive fangirling (even from middle aged men on the verge of crying)


End file.
